In "The Case for Participatory Evaluation in an Era of Accountability" (this issue), Jill Chouinard highlights seven tensions between the participatory and technocratic approaches to evaluation. She suggests that there is a need to create opportunities for more participatory approaches to evaluation. In this essay, I suggest that the era of…

A synthesis of the state of the literature is discussed in this section of the Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) forum organized around four critical questions: (1) What is ECB? (2) How can we make it happen? (3) How do we know it is happening? and (4) What is its impact? The authors argue that to move the field of ECB forward we need to envision…

Evaluators must employ research designs that generate compelling evidence related to the worth or value of programs, of which assessment data often play a critical role. This article focuses on assessment design in the context of evaluation. It describes the process of using the Framework for K-12 Science Education and Next Generation Science…

Talking Circles are safe spaces where relationships are built, nurtured, reinforced, and sometimes healed; where norms and values are established; and where people connect intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally with other members of the Circle. The Circle can also be an evaluation method that increases voice, decreases invisibility, and does…

The Labin et al. logic model describes the why, how, what, and potential outcomes of evaluation capacity building (ECB). Getting To Outcomes offers a frame and empirical results for operationalizing the ECB logic model of Labin et al. and for deepening the science and practice of ECB.

In the vast evaluation literature, there are numerous accounts describing the emergence of the field of evaluation. However, texts on evaluation history often describe how structural conditions for conducting evaluation have changed over time, often from an American perspective. Inspired by the Oral History Team, the purpose of this article is to…

This issue of "American Journal of Evaluation" presents commentaries by evaluation leaders, George Grob and Rakesh Mohan, which draw upon their wealth of practical experience to address questions about evaluator advocacy, including What is meant by the word "advocacy"? Should evaluators ever advocate? If so, when and how? What…

This article synthesizes interview data from evaluation directors and top executives of philanthropic foundations on how evaluation might better advance their missions. In key informant interviews, respondents commented on the purposes of evaluation from the foundation's perspective, challenges to effective evaluation, and the means by which…

In this paper, the author argues that evaluation theory and practice interact insufficiently today, even though early evaluation theorists expected them to be closely intertwined. She views this limited connection as the result of differing interests on the part of theorists and practitioners, differing frequencies of dissemination, and differing…

This article, based on the remarks delivered by the author at the Eleanor Chelimsky forum at the Eastern Evaluation Research Society annual conference in 2016, discusses Ambrose Caliver, an evaluator of color who worked for the federal government during segregation. Caliver's history is an important contribution to the evaluation tree. This…

Reflective case narratives are a practical mechanism for conveying lessons learned for practice improvement. Their ability to transform experience into knowledge in a colloquial, narrative style positions reflective case narratives as a powerful learning tool with pedagogical benefits for the evaluation community. However, one criticism of…

In the original paper, it was argued that while there is an array of methods and methodologies available, their use is delimited by the culture of accountability that prevails in public sector institutions, a fact that is particularly problematic given the complexity and diversity of evaluation contexts today. This short rejoinder, to responses…

Culturally responsive evaluation contests that Western-derived evaluation methods represent a universal truth and promotes approaches that reflect the local context. Taking this approach, we examine how the method of contribution analysis may be modified to reflect a different worldview. We reframe contribution analysis using a Confucian lens as…

Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard in research but may not fully explain or predict outcome variations in community-based interventions. Demonstrating efficacy of externally driven programs in well-controlled environments may not translate to community-based implementation where resources and priorities vary. A bottom-up evaluation…

Jill Chouinard, in her article "The Case for Participatory Evaluation in an Era of Accountability" (this issue, p. 237), may be re-iterating what has often been claimed and arguably is infused already in much of our theory and practice: the value of participatory approaches in some, perhaps many situations. She summarizes these claims eloquently…