Evaluators have written about the need to consider context in conducting evaluations, but most such admonitions are broad. Context is not developed fully. This chapter reviews the evaluation literature on context and discusses the two areas in which context has been more carefully considered by evaluators: the culture of program participants when…

This chapter describes a concrete process that stakeholders can use to make predictions about the future performance of programs in local contexts. Within the field of evaluation, the discussion of validity as it relates to outcome evaluation seems to be focused largely on questions of internal validity (Did it work?) with less emphasis on…

Evaluation of programs or projects is often perceived as a threat. This is to a great extent related to the anticipated use of evaluation for accountability, which is often prioritized at the expense of using evaluation as a learning tool. Frequently it is argued that there is a trade-off between these two evaluation functions. An alternative…

This article will focus on the potential role for youth evaluation advisory groups within youth grant-making organizations and networks. The main elements to be discussed include the formation of the network, the training program elements, some specific examples of efforts by young people to create and strengthen evaluation within their YACs…

The act of valuing in an evaluation may be perceived in different ways. We consider the multiple theoretic perspectives that govern an evaluator's behavior and present a typology of evaluator valuing roles. Within this typology we describe three ways in which value judgments are typically reached--by stakeholders alone, stakeholders and evaluators…

Understanding the influence of multisite evaluation requires careful consideration of cultural context. The author illustrates dimensions of influence and culture with excerpts from four National Science Foundation evaluation case studies and summarizes what influence teaches everyone about culture and what culture teaches everyone about…

The value of a program can be understood as referring not only to outcomes, but also to how those outcomes compare to the types and amounts of resources expended to produce the outcomes. Major potential mistakes and biases in assessing the worth of resources consumed, as well as the value of outcomes produced, are explored. Most of these occur…

The author focuses on issues related to the implementation and acceptance of a new evaluation unit within an organization. Specifically, the author discusses role clarity of the evaluation unit with respect to overlapping roles and the reach of the evaluation unit. The author also discusses the push-and-pull relationship between organization and…

In contrast to typical National Science Foundation program evaluations, the Utah State Math Science Partnership-Research, Evaluation and Technical Assistance Project (MSP-RETA) provided technical assistance (TA) in two forms: direct TA for up to 10 projects a year, and professional development sessions for a larger number of project staff. Not…

With the vast array of contextual factors, pedagogical approaches, models of implementation, and purposes of education and training related to online learning, educators, learners, and the general public alike are seeking answers regarding utility and effectiveness of online learning. This article identifies and responds to many of the challenges…

The authors propose a comprehensive evaluation framework to prepare for evaluating school emergency management programs. This framework involves a logic model that incorporates Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) measures as a foundation for comprehensive evaluation that complements performance monitoring used by the U.S. Department of…

Case studies about managing evaluation are examined for perspectives on expertise in managing evaluation. There are lessons on a geography of managing, managing as organizational work, the notions of "competency" and "expertise," and managing evaluation as professional work. Dreyfus and Dreyfus (2004) offer a framework for an introductory…

Internal evaluators encounter risks but also significant opportunities to strengthen organizational and professional ethics. Potential contributions depend, in part, on the conjunction of ethics and evaluation in the role of the internal evaluator as the person specially commissioned to investigate value and render judgment based on evidence…

Depth, resonance, and shadow are added to how the expertise of managing evaluation could be grasped and understood. Returning to the notion of "competency" (Stevahn, King, Ghere, & Minnema, 2005), this is contrasted more deeply with Dreyfus and Dreyfus's (2004) conception of expert and to its use in nursing by Benner (2004; Benner, Tanner, &…

Managing evaluation studies, evaluators and other workers, and evaluation units is an omnipresent but almost invisible practice little studied and written about. The authors ask whether this should change and how. It is necessary to illuminate this practice before deciding, making distinctions among management, manager, and managing, the first a…