Legitimate knowledge claims about causation have been a central concern among evaluators and applied researchers for several decades and often have been the subject of heated debates. In recent years these debates have resurfaced with a renewed intensity, due in part to the priority currently being given to randomized experiments by many funders…

This research describes, classifies, and comparatively evaluates national models and mechanisms used to evaluate research and allocate research funding in 16 countries. Although these models and mechanisms vary widely in terms of how research is evaluated and financed, nearly all share the common characteristic of relating funding to some measure…

Discusses the sources and signs of excessive evaluation anxiety in program evaluation and provides some strategies to help evaluators prevent and manage this common problem. Shows how more than technical skills are required to conduct high quality program evaluation. (SLD)

Focuses on the ideal future of evaluation as a discipline, including evaluation in the nonacademic world and evaluation as it applies to elementary, secondary, and higher education. In the ideal future, evaluation will be fully accepted as a key discipline and will be fully used in rational discourse and policy decisions. (SLD)

The first part of this paper discusses the nature of theories and why some understanding of this abstract subject is of value in the practice of evaluation. The second part looks at the dependence of good practice on a minimalist theory of evaluation and what such a theory entails. (SLD)