Training is critical for the growth of the evaluation profession as more qualified and competent individuals will be required to meet the increased demand for evaluation. This paper deals with the training needs of professionals and is based on a part of a study on the status and challenges of educational program evaluation in the Asia-Pacific…

Collaborative Evaluation systematically invites and engages stakeholders in program evaluation planning and implementation. Unlike "distanced" evaluation approaches, which reject stakeholder participation as evaluation team members, Collaborative Evaluation assumes that active, on-going engagement between evaluators and program staff,…

Environmental education organizations can do more to either institute evaluation or improve the quality of their evaluation. In an effort to help evaluators bridge the gap between the potential for high quality evaluation systems to improve environmental education, and the low level of evaluation in actual practice, we reviewed recent…

Educational needs assessments (hereafter NAs) are inattentive to cost considerations and are frequently dominated by elite stakeholder groups. In this article I make a case for adopting a cost-utility approach, illustrating the argument with data generated in a NA of central library services in a Canadian school district. Using survey data from…

This discussion foregrounds four key issues engaged by the articles presented in this special issue: the unique challenges and opportunities of environmental education evaluation, how to think well about the evaluation approaches and purposes that best match this domain, evaluation capacity building in environmental education and action, and…

We join the authors in this special issue in their call to embrace a culture of evaluation. Obstacles to change are formidable. Educators debate their purpose--provide knowledge or achieve environmental goals--and we have limited evidence of the effectiveness of environmental programs and policies. Change requires collaboration across…

Needs assessment methodology has grown remarkably as a necessary part of evaluating human service programs. The consumer survey method of needs assessment is reviewed. Problems in designing and implementing consumer surveys and training programs are discussed. (JKS)

Discusses the conditions that promote evaluation and their applicability to the current welfare situation. Outlines a welfare reform evaluation agenda, focusing on core activities and investments in evaluation. The major focus should be finding out what is effective for which individuals. (SLD)

The concept of evaluation readiness complements other evaluation planning approaches. Its basic products are the formal program definition and the data inventory framework. Ways to improve timeliness, appropriateness, and use of evaluation are also discussed. (Author/GDC)

Modified evaluation planning tools, such as document models, logic models, and program theory models in planning for the evaluation of the coordination of domestic violence services in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland. Data from a variety of sources (targeted agencies) show that activities of agencies in the coordinated community response are…

Studied the efforts of a state-funded evaluation support unit in Rhode Island to increase evaluation capacity in 13 community-based organizations through a needs assessment, on-site technical assistance, a workshop series, and selected model projects. Measures of organizational needs, staff confidence, and agency progress are used to document…

A scale developed to assess the burdens of families with a seriously mentally ill member, the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS), is described. Use of the scale in two studies involving 188 family members demonstrates its stable factor structure and practicality for program evaluation. (SLD)

Twelve articles discuss the advantages of theory-driven evaluation for: (1) identifying crucial issues; (2) integrating program implementation into evaluation; (3) diagnosing problems in program studies; (4) diagnosing problems in program structures; and (5) enhancing evaluation utilization. Topics include optimizing validity in program and…

A review of 61 interventions to reduce the rate of medical diagnostic testing reveals that many approaches were successful; the mean reduction observed was 22%. Interventions based on analysis of needs and concerns about negative side effects tended to be more effective. (SLD)

The traditional experimental-control group method for evaluating delinquency prevention programs is questioned. It is contended that the method harms the intervention and exacerbates the deliquency problem. (JKS)