The importance of evaluation use has led to a large amount of theoretical and empirical study. Evaluation use, however, is still not well understood. There is a need to capture the complexity of this phenomenon across a diverse range of contexts. In response to such complexities, the notion of "evaluation influence" emerged. This article presents…

Multilevel modeling techniques facilitated examination of relationships between fidelity indicators and outcomes associated with a summer literacy intervention. Three-level growth models were specified to capture the extent to which students experienced instruction and to demonstrate the ways in which dosage-response relationships manifest in…

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) has become a popular approach for helping community-based organizations (CBOs) to meet their funders' demands for accountability. This case study reports the ECB process with one staff member using a catalyst-for-change approach. The authors analyzed the role of the catalyst in diffusing evaluation knowledge and…

Although the general conceptual basis appeared far earlier, theory-driven evaluation came to prominence only a few decades ago with the appearance of Chen's 1990 book "Theory-Driven Evaluations." Since that time, the approach has attracted many supporters as well as detractors. In this paper, 45 cases of theory-driven evaluations, published over a…

This article is third in a series of exemplary cases under the two current section editors. The first two cases (Brandon, Smith, Trenholm, & Devaney, 2010; Smith, Brandon, Lawton, & Krohn-Ching, 2010) profiled evaluations that had been designated as exemplary by professional associations. The present case profiles an evaluation organization:…

Innovations and new project ideas often emerge in networks of researchers, users of research, and societal actors. This article analyzes and discusses how research scientists learn to conduct research that has an impact on their clients, scientific community, and society. We describe a new developmental impact evaluation method based on the theory…

I define a treatment effect in terms of a comparison of outcomes and provide a typology of all possible comparisons that can be used to estimate treatment effects, including comparisons that are relatively unknown in both the literature and practice. I then assess the relative merit, worth, and value of all possible comparisons based on the…

The emergence of and the attention given to culture in the evaluation field over the last decade has created a heightened awareness of and need for evaluators to understand the complexity and multidimensionality of evaluations within multicultural, multiracial, and cross-cultural contexts. In this article, the authors discuss how cultural…

In the 1960s, evaluation thrived in the sunshine of political support for our work. We also experienced the dark side of the force of politics: efforts to introduce partisan biases favorable to special interests. In response to politics as contamination, at least two families of stances developed: populist and public interest. The populist stances…

Evidence-based policy-making and other recent reforms in public steering emphasize the role systematic evidence can play in improving decision making and public policies. Increasing deficits heighten the pressure on public authorities to legitimate public spending and to find savings. Existing studies show that the influence of research-based…

A theory-driven approach to evaluation (TDE) emphasizes the development and empirical testing of conceptual models to understand the processes and mechanisms through which programs achieve their intended goals. However, most reported applications of TDE are limited to large-scale experimental/quasi-experimental program evaluation designs. Very few…

In this paper we describe an evaluation training program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by Duquesne University and OMG Center for Collaborative Learning designed to meet the challenge of developing a cadre of diverse evaluation professionals, specifically those from traditionally underrepresented or underserved…

2011 is the 25th anniversary of the American Evaluation Association. Such occasions are often recognized both by looking back to assess and celebrate accomplishments of the past and by looking ahead to anticipate the problems and potential of the future. In the past 25 years, the profession of evaluation has experienced rapid, ubiquitous growth,…

The authors present a case study examining the potential for policies to be "evidence-based." To what extent is it possible to say that a decision to implement a complex social intervention is warranted on the basis of available empirical data? The case chosen is whether there is sufficient evidence to justify banning smoking in cars carrying…

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) has become an area in the evaluation field that is attracting both scholarly attention and the practical work of evaluators. Despite some recent contributions, differing conceptions still exist concerning what constitutes ECB, let alone the nature of the capacity being built. Responding to an earlier call on the…