This article reviews the major approaches of program evaluation and evaluation in planning. The challenges to evaluating plans and planning are discussed, including the reliance on ex ante evaluations, a lack of outcome evaluation methodologies, the attribution gap, and institutional hurdles. Areas requiring further research are also highlighted, including the need to develop appropriate evaluation methodologies; creating stronger linkages between program evaluation and evaluation in planning; examining the institutional and political contexts guiding the use (and misuse) of evaluation in practice; and the importance of training and educating planners on evaluation.

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The focus of plan quality is on evaluating plans-as-objects against normative characteristics researchers and planning practitioners believe contribute to a high quality plan. This study builds on the established plan quality literature and methods to assess the quality of official (comprehensive) plans from sixty-three of the most populous municipalities in the Ontario-Greater Golden Horseshoe region (Canada). Three key themes emerged from this analysis. First, the provincial government plays a role in municipal official plan quality. Second, monitoring and evaluation is underutilized in many plans. Third, the communication of plan contents could be improved to enhance its use and readability.

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