Evaluation Exchange: Evaluation Methodology

Published by the United States-based Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP), this Summer 2005 issue of The Evaluation Exchange (Volume XI, No. 2) focuses on evaluation methodology, covering topics in contemporary evaluation thinking, techniques, and tools.

Contributors to the issue share their own (organisations') experience. At the same time, they respond to various "how to" questions, such as how to foster strategic learning, how to select and use various outcome models, how to enhance diversity and multicultural competency in evaluation, and "how to measure what we value so others value what we measure." The issue also explores theory of change, cluster evaluation, and retrospective pretests - methodological approaches that HFRP describes as "currently generating much interest and dialogue."

Specifically:

• The issue begins with a Theory & Practice section that features a piece by Mel Mark, president-elect of the American Evaluation Association, who discusses the role that evaluation theory plays in methodological choices.
• The Promising Practices section features a paper describing 8 models for applying outcome-based thinking; an exploration of how non-profit organisations can learn about setting evaluation priorities based on storytelling; and an examination of tools for assessing organisational capacity among non-profits.
• Questions & Answers features a conversation with Georgia State University evaluator Gary Henry, who urges a paradigm shift in how we think about evaluation use and influence.
• The Ask the Expert section includes a piece sharing ways to position learning as an organisational priority, a discussion of the role of randomised trials in defining "what works", and "An Introduction to Theory of Change."
• Evaluations to Watch offers insights from the representatives of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and Wellsys Corporation.
• In Beyond Basic Training, the reader can explore "Ten Strategies for Enhancing Multicultural Competency in Evaluation", "The Evidence Base for Increasing High-Achieving Minority Undergraduates", and "Building a Pipeline Program for Evaluators of Color".
• Spotlight focuses on retrospective pretests and their strengths and weaknesses.

Click here to view a table of contents, and to access individual articles in HTML format.