Background: Stakeholder participation is an important trend in the field of program evaluation. Although a few measurement instruments have been proposed, they either have not been empirically validated or do not cover the full content of the concept. Objectives: This study consists of a first...

This paper compares selected evaluation theories (Practical Participatory Evaluation, Values-Engaged Evaluation, Emergent Realist Evaluation) on the basis of their stated consequences. The discussion follows Mark's (2008) framework for research on evaluation and uses Miller's (2010) criteria of...

This research explores the relationship between participation in evaluation and the use of evaluation findings and processes within three large-scale multi-site evaluations. Using canonical correlation analysis and a collection of 20 interviews, this study describes and tests the relationship...

Governments are under increasing pressure to deliver results. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the public service in implementing policies and programmes for social betterment. Without such evaluations, it is difficult to ensure that evidence...

Background:The impact of an evaluation is an important consideration in designing and carrying out evaluations. Evaluation influence is a way of thinking about the effect that an evaluation can have in the broadest possible terms, which its proponents argue will lead to a systematic body of...

This study examines how federally sponsored research questions about welfare policy have evolved from 1981 to 2001, through a content analysis of Requests for Proposals (RFPs). We treat the RFP as a document that identifies what information is sought as well as what is treated as established...

While program evaluations are increasingly valued by international organizations to inform practices and public policies, actual evaluation use (EU) in such contexts is inconsistent. Moreover, empirical literature on EU in the context of humanitarian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is very...

Right-wing extremism has reemerged on the political agenda in Switzerland over the last decade, much as in other European states. Most of the time, right-wing extremism remains latent. However, as soon as a constituency is confronted with manifest right-wing incidents (right-wing extremist group...

In response to previous papers in this issue, I consider the ways that logic models of evaluation theories may improve practice. Our conceptions of how theory informs practice are colored by who we have in mind when we speak of practitioners and theorists. I offer working definitions of these...

We comment on a set of papers in this journal issue that have examined three evaluation theories by constructing a logic model for each and conducting a set of comparative content analyses. We consider the set of papers as an instance of research on evaluation. For instance, we question the...