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…

The aim of this chapter is to characterize educational reforms in Latin America over the last 25 years, and the way they reflect the role, method, and use of evaluation processes. The main theoretical and methodological tensions that are created by the development of evaluations will be reviewed, concluding with the identification of some of the…

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…

A cross-case analysis of four National Science Foundation (NSF) case studies identified both unique details and common themes related to promoting the use and influence of multisite evaluations. The analysis provided evidence of diverse evaluation use by stakeholders and suggested that people taking part in the multisite evaluations perceived…

Translation theory originates in the field of applied linguistics and communication. The term knowledge translation has been adopted in health and other fields to refer to the exchange, synthesis, and application of knowledge. The logic model is a circular or iterative loop among various knowledge translation actors (knowledge producers and users)…

The authors offer suggestions about logical distinctions often overlooked in the evaluation of research, beginning with a strong plea not to treat technology as applied science, and especially not to treat research in technology as important only if it makes a contribution to scientific knowledge. They argue that the frameworks illustrated in this…

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…

On the basis of a multistage exploration of evaluation texts, electronic searches, and nominations from the field and from managing social science, the author concludes there is little research literature on managing evaluation studies, evaluators and other workers, and evaluation units. The discussion explores what this limited literature tells…

A critical theory lens is used to explore the role of evaluation in youth development, a field aimed at recognizing youth as assets. A theory of change in the field is questioned for its emphasis on individual youth outcomes as programmatic outcome measures. A review of 209 evaluations of 131 programs in the Harvard Family Research Project's…

The author regards development of Australia's ill-fated Research Quality Framework (RQF) as a "live experiment" in determining the most appropriate approach to evaluating the extra-academic returns, or "impact," of a nation's publicly funded research. The RQF was at the forefront of an international movement toward richer…

This chapter features a recent conversation with Dr. Arnold J. Love, a long-time proponent of internal evaluation and one of the most cited internal evaluation authors. In 1983, Love edited the first issue of "New Directions for Program Evaluation" on the topic of internal evaluation. He is the author of the book "Internal…

The author develops the basic idea of evaluation policy, describes a practical model for development and revision of evaluation policies (including a taxonomy, structure, and set of principles), and suggests critical challenges and opportunities for the future of evaluation policy. An evaluation policy is any rule or principle that a group or…

The field of evaluation faces a number of serious challenges in light of No Child Left Behind legislation, among them feasibility, resources, and blurring lines among research, evaluation, and assessment. At the same time, these challenges open the door for opportunities in evaluation. Now more than ever, the expertise of evaluators is needed and…

Donald W. Compton, the first director of evaluation services at the National Home Office (Atlanta) of the American Cancer Society, tells the story of building the unit in conditions of high demand and a limited budget. Along the way, evaluation was brought to regional divisions and to local offices in part as a response to United Way and to his…

The authors tell about their heterogeneous 91 person research and evaluation unit at an operating foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. They focus on evaluation for program improvement, one of several purposes of studies they work on. The three authors write from their different manager positions within the unit. Included are the context of the…