This manual was designed for Catholic Relief Services staff who want to improve the health and nutrition component of maternal and child health programs. The methodology presented had already been used in two country programs in Africa, and the experiences in those program evaluations made this guide to participatory evaluation useful for other evaluation situations. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss a number of concepts that underlie a participatory approach to evaluation, setting the stage for the discussion of practical evaluation steps in chapter 3. These include: (1) preplanning meetings; (2) the evaluation planning workshop; (3) field data collection and analysis; (4) a workshop to formulate the lessons learned; (5) development of an action plan; and (6) the finalization and dissemination of the evaluation report. Chapter 4 presents some conclusions about the use of participatory evaluation. It stresses the importance of careful planning and the availability of certain human and other resources. Chapter 5 presents some cautions related to the use of the participatory methodology, and chapter 6 contains a list of 19 practical references for evaluators. (SLD)