This study examines the effectiveness of the Local Literacy Provider Training (LLPT) program in the Republic of Macedonia through customized application of Desimone's (2009) Core Conceptual Framework for Effectiveness Studies of Professional Development. Findings confirm the alignment of the LLPT design to research-based elements of effective professional development, as well as the challenges and importance of context in designing and conducting professional development in the Macedonian context. The conceptual frameworks and pragmatic measures used in the study have potential utility for the critical examination of the design of professional development, particularly as concerns its content, process, and context, and its assumptions and assessment tools. (Contains 1 figure and 6 tables.)