In a reflective commentary, the authors address the implications of the fact that, in action settings, implementation and evaluation are often carried on by the same person, and they raise the question, "Should evaluation become implementation?" (PN)

The user-oriented and utilization-focused evaluation design of the two-year Caribbean Agricultural Extension Project, funded by Aid to International Development, is reviewed. The evaluation scope, stakeholders, evaluation team credibility, official approval of evaluation, and confidence in the evaluation process are addressed, within a…

The nine articles of this theme issue provide overviews of legislative program evaluation and demonstrate the tensions caused by the conflict between utility and rigor in such evaluations. Legislative evaluation is concerned with evaluation utilization because legislators commission evaluations they expect to use. (SLD)

Ten functions of program theory are reviewed: contributing to social science knowledge; assisting policymakers, discriminating between theory failure and program failure, identifying the problem and target group, providing program implementation description, uncovering unintended effects, specifying intervening variables, improving formative use…

Two forms of naturalistic evaluation have appeared within the past decade: (1) a collection of qualitative techniques that are complimentary with conventional quantitative methods; and (2) an alternative paradigm that emphasizes the negotiation of multiple socially constructed realities, interdependence of facts and values, and the emergent…

Strategies for use by clients who commission evaluation studies in the private, university, or governmental sector are outlined. Topics covered include establishing the purpose of the evaluation, assembling in-house management staff, specifying work and expertise requirements, establishing confidentiality and project control, and managing results.…

Reflection on experiences in Brazil and elsewhere provides insight into the advisory process in international technical cooperation projects and alternative roles for evaluation advisors. (Author)

Four functions of federal project officers in managing program evaluations with support from contract research firms are described: (1) articulating evaluation requirements; (2) providing for fairness in contract awards; (3) monitoring ongoing studies; and (4) transmitting evaluation results to decision makers. (Author/PN)

Stakeholder-based studies modify the relationship between evaluator and user, producing conflict that can cause evaluators to regress to familiar, traditional patterns that leave interactive evaluation strategies only partially implemented. (Author/PN)

Evaluability assessment is a diagnostic and prescriptive technique that can be used to determine the extent to which different problems inhibit program evaluation. It involves policymakers, managers, and staff in developing program theory, clarifying intended uses of evaluation information, and planning further evaluations that would stimulate…

This theme issue discusses the misuse of evaluation. The eight articles all discuss instances in which the evaluation process or evaluation findings were misused. Misuse is usually not the result of methodological issues but rather is an issue of human relations and sometimes of political pressure. (SLD)

Evaluation must take into account both executive and legislative politics and their interactions. A five-part continuum evaluation process is suggested for the development of a policy question and its translation into knowledge that is credible, timely, responsive, and usable. Evaluators have a major responsibility in this process. (Author/JAZ)

Evaluation synthesis, a meta-evaluation method developed by the General Accounting Office to improve evaluation utilization by legislators, is described. It is designed to: (1) focus on the information needs and priorities of legislators, and (2) ensure continuous communication between sponsor and evaluator. The strengths and limitations of this…

Evaluation management requires a system for measuring, improving, and accounting for quality. The Institute for Program Evaluation in the United States General Accounting Office is developing such a system. (Author)

The promise of the stakeholder approach to evaluation lies in its potential to counter criticism that evaluation is too narrow, unrealistic in its standards for success, unfair to program staff and participants, and irrelevant to decision makers. (Author)