A review of program and project evaluation models

Purpose – This paper aims to review Program and Project evaluation Models. The assessment of the Evaluation Model (metaevaluation) is a critical step in Evaluation, as it is at the basis of a successful Program/Project evaluation. A wide and effective review of EMs is a basic, as well as fundamental, support in meta-evaluation that affects positively the overall evaluation efficacy and efficiency. Despite a large number of reviews of EMs and a numerous population of EMs, developed in heterogeneous projects and programs settings, the literature lacks comprehensive collections and reviews of EMs that this paper addresses to provide a basis for the assessment of EMs. Design/methodology/approach – Through a systematic literature review carried out via the Internet, and querying search engines, several models addressing program or project evaluation have been identified and analyzed. Following a process of normalization of the results gathered, they have been analyzed and compared according to key descriptive issues. They have been, at the end, summarized and rationalized in a comprehensive frame. Findings – In recent years, evaluation studies have focused on the explanation of the mechanisms that underlie the transformation of projects’ and programs’ outputs into socio-economic effects, arguing that making them explicit allows to understand why a project or program is successful, as well as evaluating its extent. To assess and explain program’s and project’s effects, a basic, although fundamental, role in evaluation is played by the EM. A wide and heterogeneous set of 57 EMs has been identified, defined and framed in typologies, according to a systematic review research. Originality/value – The approach to the review of EMs and the definition of a boundary of interest for management and economic researchers and practitioners represent an original issue of this paper.