Why Aren't Evaluations Working and What to Do About It: A Framework for Negotiating Meaningful Evaluation in Nonprofits

Autor/inn/en	Liket, Kellie C.; Rey-Garcia, Marta; Maas, Karen E. H.
Titel	Why Aren't Evaluations Working and What to Do About It: A Framework for Negotiating Meaningful Evaluation in Nonprofits
Quelle	In: American Journal of Evaluation, 35 (2014) 2, S.171-188 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1098-2140
DOI	10.1177/1098214013517736
Schlagwörter	Nonprofit Organizations; Program Evaluation; Evaluation Utilization; Evaluation Methods; Stakeholders; Program Effectiveness; Objectives; Case Studies; Cooperation; Barriers + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Nonprofit-Organisation; Programme evaluation; Programmevaluation; Goal definition; Zielsetzung; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Co-operation; Kooperation
Abstract	Nonprofit organizations are under great pressure to use evaluations to show that their programs "work" and that they are "effective." However, empirical evidence indicates that nonprofits struggle to perform useful evaluations, especially when conducted under accountability pressures. An increasing body of evidence highlights the crucial role of a participatory negotiation process between nonprofits and stakeholders on the purpose and design of evaluations in achieving evaluation utility. However, conceptual confusion about the evaluation objectives, unclear evaluation purposes, a lack of appropriate evaluation questions, and normative ideas about superior evaluation designs and methods, complicate the process. In response, we provide practical conceptualizations of the central objectives of evaluations and propose a framework that can guide negotiation processes. It presents the relationships between the evaluation purpose, evaluation question, and the different levels of effects that should be measured. The selection of the evaluation method is contingent on the choices made within this framework. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10