The client-evaluator relationship in an evaluation of a Roman Catholic religious congregation is described. The selection of the evaluator, interactive evaluation design, instrument development, elicitation of administrative and provincial support, analysis of results, and client and evaluator perspectives are discussed. (TJH)

Evaluation client characteristics are outlined, based on experiences of the Office of Instructional and Management Services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and contract evaluators for industry and other higher education institutions. Objectivity, expertise, sensitivity to client needs, standardized data presentation,…

The user-oriented and utilization-focused evaluation design of the two-year Caribbean Agricultural Extension Project, funded by Aid to International Development, is reviewed. The evaluation scope, stakeholders, evaluation team credibility, official approval of evaluation, and confidence in the evaluation process are addressed, within a…

The client's role and the client-contractor relationship are traced through the design, implementation, and analysis of the Department of Education's High School and Beyond (HSB) survey. The Longitudinal Studies Branch is HSB's major sponsor (client), and the National Opinion Research Center (contractor) conducted the base year and follow-up…

This article describes a program of laboratory and field research on broadcast teletext. In addition to presenting major results and summarizing their implications, it sets the program within the context defined by stakeholders in the teletext field. It also reviews the methodological issues and practical eventualities that shaped the research.…

Ten functions of program theory are reviewed: contributing to social science knowledge; assisting policymakers, discriminating between theory failure and program failure, identifying the problem and target group, providing program implementation description, uncovering unintended effects, specifying intervening variables, improving formative use…

Formative evaluation of a prototype system can help developers to refine a product and define a market. A survey of adopters and non-adopters of a prototype videotex system, when coupled with machine-collected data about system usage, provided rich information for that purpose. (Author)

The author feels that the stakeholder approach unavoidably pushes the evaluation toward technical compromises and accommodations that diminish the long-term gains in knowledge. (PN)

Strategies for use by clients who commission evaluation studies in the private, university, or governmental sector are outlined. Topics covered include establishing the purpose of the evaluation, assembling in-house management staff, specifying work and expertise requirements, establishing confidentiality and project control, and managing results.…

The events leading up to a controversial external evaluation in a small school district in Chicago are described from the client's viewpoint. Focus is on the community unrest and tension that shaped the evaluation contract. (TJH)

Stakeholder-based studies modify the relationship between evaluator and user, producing conflict that can cause evaluators to regress to familiar, traditional patterns that leave interactive evaluation strategies only partially implemented. (Author/PN)

This article refers to two uses of the term "program theory": (1) microtheory to describe the model of the program; and (2) macrotheory which is concerned with factors that affect social change both within and outside programs. Barriers to successful utilization of evaluation and suggestions to overcome those barriers are discussed. (JAZ)

Analysis of the assumptions underlying the stakeholder approach to evaluation combined with the limited experience in testing the approach reported in this volume, suggests that some claims are cogent and others problematical. (Author)

Program theory and implementation process theory contribute, respectively, to specifying the what and the why of program delivery. This article discusses the relationship between these two theories and the types of data collection methods that can be derived from each in order to contribute to more comprehensive evaluation designs. (JAZ)

A short history of program theory in evaluation is reviewed. Two related problems in program evaluation are discussed and illustrated: (1) how to specify in measurable terms the consensus of theories and values that guides the program; and (2) how to construct a theoretical framework that specifies the use of these measurements. (Author/JAZ)