Program Evaluation

A Practical Guide to Program Evaluation Planning: Theory and Case Examples provides a step-by-step process to guide evaluators in planning a comprehensive, yet feasible, program evaluation-from start to design-within any context. No book currently on the market delineate the required steps for preparing to conduct an evaluation.

This book discusses the crucial place that assumptions hold in conceptualizing, implementing, and evaluating development programs. It suggests simple ways for stakeholders and evaluators to 1) examine their assumptions about program theory and environmental conditions and 2) develop and carry out effective program monitoring and evaluation in light of those assumptions. A survey of evaluators from an international development agency reviewed the state of practice on assumptions-aware evaluation. This 2nd edition has been updated with further illustrations, case studies, and frameworks that have been researched and tested in the years since the first edition.

This book focuses on assumptions underlying methods choice in program evaluation. Credible program evaluation extends beyond the accuracy of research designs to include arguments justifying the appropriateness of methods.