Framing the Capacity to Do and Use Evaluation

Cousins, J. Bradley; Goh, Swee C.; Elliott, Catherine; Bourgeois, Isabelle

doi:10.1002/ev.20076

Cited by 82 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Nine universities (five public and four private) currently offer master's level training in M&E. International organisations and communities of practice such as MEASURE Evaluation provide platforms for M&E training including self-paced courses, webinars, or live classes. Although these training programmes contribute to the supply side by preparing M&E professionals, research involving multiple organisations across Africa has shown that contents of similar trainings tend to emphasise theory at the expense of practical application and are perceived to have limited practical utility or relevance to trainees' work (Cousins et al 2014b;Tarsilla 2014). These findings are consistent with findings of studies conducted in developed countries (Clinton 2013;SuarezBalcazar & Taylor-Ritzler 2013).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…There is emphasis on the importance of conceptualising organisational evaluation capacity building (ECB), both in terms of the capacity to do [conduct] evaluation and to use it (Cousins et al 2008(Cousins et al , 2014bHueftle Stockdill, Baizerman & Compton 2002). Briefly, ECB refers to the intentional continuous act of creating and sustaining organisational processes that make doing quality programme evaluation and using it routine within and between organisations (Hueftle Stockdill et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Strengthening capacity for monitoring and evaluation through short course training in Kenya

Wao

Onyango²,

Kisio³

et al. 2017

African Evaluation Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Weak monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems and limited supply of M&E human resources in Africa signal the need to strengthen M&E capacity.Objectives: This exploratory study evaluated the effect of short course training on professionals’ knowledge and skills in the areas of mixed methods research, systematic review and meta-analysis and general principles of M&E.Methods: A partially mixed concurrent dominant status design including quantitative (multilevel modelling and meta-analyses) and qualitative (thematic content analysis) components was employed to evaluate the impact of a 4-day short course training focusing on these areas.Results: Thirty-five participants participated in the training. Participants experienced an increase in knowledge in the three areas; however, average change in knowledge did not differ across participants’ employment settings. Participants’ self-stated objectives considered as SMART and belonging to a higher level in Bloom’s taxonomy were associated with change in knowledge. Based on comments made by participants, majority intended to apply what they learned to their work; clarity of content delivery was the most liked aspect of the training, and the use of more practical sessions was recommended as a way to improve the training.Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence of potential of the use of short course training as an approach to strengthening capacity in M&E in less-developed countries such as Kenya. It underscores the importance of participants’ self-stated objective(s) as an element to be considered in the enhancement of knowledge, attitudes and skills needed for acceptable capacity building in M&E.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening capacity for monitoring and evaluation through short course training in Kenya

Wao

Onyango²,

Kisio³

et al. 2017

African Evaluation Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This research domain is called organizational evaluation capacity, or EC, and has gained considerable attention in the last decade (Cousins, Goh, Elliott, & Bourgeois, 2014). EC has been linked to organizational learning and improvement, and is thought to be essential to sustainable evaluation utilization (Alkin & Taut, 2002;Torres & Preskill, 1999;Preskill & Boyle, 2008).…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic Evaluation Utilization in the Canadian Federal Government

Bourgeois

Whynot

2018

Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Clearly, there is a variety of issues about which one might make or substantiate decisions or alter attitudes. A fourth purpose, which can either apply to individual people or to the organization as a whole, relates to the explicit development of the capacity to both conduct and use the evaluation process and results (Cousins, Goh, Elliott, & Bourgeois, 2014).…”

Section: Evaluation Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Definitions of Evaluation Use and Misuse, Evaluation Influence, and Factors Affecting Use

Alkin

King

2017

American Journal of Evaluation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The second article in this series on the history of evaluation use has three sections. The first and longest develops a functional definition of the term use, noting that a thorough definition of evaluation use includes the initial stimulus (i.e., evaluation findings or process), the user, the way people use the information, the aspect of the program considered, and the purpose. It then defines evaluation use's unethical companion, misuse, detailing the distinction between the two. The second section briefly discusses a broadened concept of evaluation impact that expands to include evaluation influence. Finally, the third section summarizes the factors that research has shown to be related to evaluation use. Keywords evaluation use, evaluation misuse, evaluation influence PrefaceThis article is the second of three tracing the development of the concept of evaluation use from the perspective of two academics who have studied the topic for over 40 years. As a reminder, the first article in the series traced the origins and conceptual grounding of evaluation use. Our focus in this second article is on our views of use/misuse and the multiple perspectives that have influenced them over time. We also discuss the addition of evaluation influence to the conceptual debate and factors that are empirically related to use. The third and final article in the series will address evaluation use theories and research. Evaluation Use and Misuse DefinedThe first article in this series (Alkin & King, 2016) discussed "evaluation use," but without a formal definition of the term, although it may be partially inferred by the nature of the earlier discussion. In

show abstract

Framing the Capacity to Do and Use Evaluation

Cited by 82 publications

References 45 publications

Strengthening capacity for monitoring and evaluation through short course training in Kenya

Strengthening capacity for monitoring and evaluation through short course training in Kenya

Strategic Evaluation Utilization in the Canadian Federal Government

Definitions of Evaluation Use and Misuse, Evaluation Influence, and Factors Affecting Use

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About