Evaluation capacity building (ECB) has become an area in the evaluation field that is attracting both scholarly attention and the practical work of evaluators. Despite some recent contributions, differing conceptions still exist concerning what constitutes ECB, let alone the nature of the capacity being built. Responding to an earlier call on the need for conceptual clarity regarding evaluation capacity (EC), this article discusses a model and a measurement tool used to map EC in Danish public sector organizations. Using empirical evidence as its basis, this article discusses the strengths and limitations of the conceptual model in relation to its face, content, and construct validity. Finally, the article discusses the implications arising from empirical findings and recent theoretical developments and suggests potential steps for improving conceptual clarity in the future.
This article examines the methodological strengths and weaknesses of contribution analysis. The authors contend that a salient characteristic of contribution analysis is its accounting for influencing factors and alternative explanations. We argue that contribution analysis in its current form needs further methodological and practical elaboration in this respect. Therefore, this article pays particular attention to how the methodology can identify and determine the extent of influencing factors and alternative explanations. The authors propose a corresponding framework -the Relevant Explanation Finder -which can help evaluators account for these elements and thereby create more credible contribution stories.
Realist evaluation has, over the past two decades, become a widely used approach in evaluation. The cornerstone of realist evaluation is to answer the question: What works, for whom, under what circumstances, and why. This is accomplished by explicating the causal mechanisms that, within a particular context, generate the outcomes of interest. Despite the central role of mechanisms in realist evaluation, systematic knowledge about how the term mechanism is conceptualized and operationalized is limited. The aim of the present chapter is to examine how mechanisms are defined and applied in realist evaluations. Informed by the findings of the review, further conceptual and practical developments for future applications of mechanisms in realist evaluation are considered.
The present chapter provides the conceptual foundation on which the remainder of this special issue is grounded. First, the chapter considers the idea of an evaluation marketplace and reflects on the limited attention awarded to the commercial aspects of evaluation. Second, the scarce—yet significant—literature on the evaluation market and industry is considered, identifying three distinct strands of contributions: the evaluation market composition, market dynamics, and strategies for navigating these. In the third section, the chapter offers working definitions of the evaluation market and evaluation services as well as presents the evaluation market framework, an emerging framework for better understanding the central components of the evaluation marketplace, including its context, composition, and dynamics. A brief set of concluding notes brings the chapter to a close.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.