The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration's (LEAA) 1974 evaluation guidelines state that each State Planning Agency (SPA) "is expected to intensively evaluate...selected projects or groups of projects according to its planning needs." Evaluations are to "incorporate sound evaluation methodologies including, as appropriate, experimental designs developed prior to project implementation, control groups, independent data collection and analysis, and indepth case studies." Intensive evaluations are required only if a use for the results is established. The SPA and its Regional Planning Units (RPUs) may determine when intensive evaluation is needed, what should be evaluated, and what methodologies to use. The handbook is designed to help SPAs and RPUs use this discretion effectively. It is aimed primarily at persons responsible for developing and managing evaluation activities. Chapter 2 identifies situations that warrant intensive evaluation and potential costs and benefits; Chapter 3 summarizes the major tasks involved. Chapters 4-8 are aimed at persons responsible for evaluation implementation, discussing the major tasks in greater detail and offering strategies. To demonstrate alternative methods of conducting intensive evaluation, appendixes describe the evaluation activities of selected SPAs and the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice's approach to evaluation. A bibliography is also appended. (Author/AJ)