In the Research Handbook on Program Evaluation, an impressive range of authors take stock of the history and current standing of key issues and debates in the evaluation field. Building upon current literature of program evaluation, the Research Handbook assesses the field's status in a post-pandemic and social justice-oriented world, examining today’s theoretical and practical concerns and proposing how they might be resolved by future innovations. Featuring chapters from established thought leaders as well as emerging authors, the Research Handbook tracks theoretical issues in program evaluation and provides different approaches, trends and practices within this evolving field. Contributing authors discuss both obstacles and facilitators to evaluation alongside innovative tools from different disciplines to ensure evaluation-related work is more relevant, useful and effective. Chapters cover diverse contexts from the political realm to the nonprofit sector, and anticipate future challenges and directions for the field, for instance the need to promote equity, amplify intersectional identities and encourage democratic participation. Transdisciplinary in its scope, this Research Handbook is a comprehensive reference point for program evaluation scholars. Its expansive nature means it will also appeal to practitioners, researchers and graduate students across a diverse range of disciplines, who wish to engage more deeply in theoretical debates in the field and learn about innovative approaches and methods.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction: key challenges for evaluation theory and practice 1 Kathryn E. Newcomer and Steven W. Mumford PART I THEORETICAL ISSUES IN PROGRAM EVALUATION 1 Evaluation use and influence 14 Melvin M. Mark 2 Evaluative thinking 35 Thomas Archibald 3 The evaluation society and its dangers 50 Peter Dahler-Larsen 4 Values and valuing 66 Thomas A. Schwandt 5 Multicultural validity: importance and grounded application 84 Cinthia Josette Arévalo and Louise Moana Were PART II THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO PROGRAM EVALUATION 6 Cultural responsiveness in evaluation 98 Ayesha S. Boyce, Jori N. Hall and Cherie M. Avent 7 Framing participatory evaluation: a twenty-five-year retrospective 116 J. Bradley Cousins and Elizabeth Whitmore 8 Using principles to guide evaluation theory and practice 137 Michael Quinn Patton and Charmagne E. Campbell-Patton 9 It’s about more than equity: Equitable Evaluation Framework® 161 Jara Dean-Coffey 10 Feminist principles evaluation 174 Donna Rae Podems 11 Cross-cultural evaluation in Indigenous communities: a journey into and out of colonized spaces 192 Jill Anne Chouinard and Susanne Thiessen PART III ONGOING TRENDS IN PROGRAM EVALUATION 12 Engagement in evaluation 211 Esther C. Nolton and Laura P. Forsythe 13 Building evaluation capacity 240 Tessie Catsambas and Ghazia Aslam 14 Program theory 260 Brad Astbury 15 Mixing methods in program evaluation 280 Sarah Mason and Steven W. Mumford 16 Exploring causal pathways amid complexity 304 Jewlya Lynn and Marina Apgar 17 Evaluating advocacy initiatives 326 Sarah E. Stachowiak and Elizabeth B. Taylor-Schiro – Biidabinikwe 18 Evaluating complex development programs: integrating complexity thinking and systems analysis 348 Michael Bamberger and Aaron E. Zazueta 19 Evidence-informed policy and management? Disparate communities of practice providing information to government 374 Clinton T. Brass and Kathryn E. Newcomer 20 Experimental approaches in evaluation 397 Laura R. Peck 21 Evidence-building and evaluation in government 424 Nicholas Hart and Kathryn E. Newcomer PART IV EMERGING PRACTICES IN PROGRAM EVALUATION 22 Strategic evaluation agendas: a case study from the Netherlands 443 Nynke de Witte, Carolien Klein Haarhuis, Rien Rouw and Odette van de Riet 23 Using multilevel models to address intersectionality in program evaluation 460 Eiko Hiraoka Strader 24 Emerging trust-based evaluation approaches in philanthropy 475 Julia Coffman and Chera Reid 25 Evaluating social enterprises: research and practice 489 Saurabh A. Lall and Kaushal Sapkota 26 Real-time evaluation: past and potential 508 Scott G. Chaplowe 27 Utilizing narratives to examine equity 530 Justine Augeri 28 Enhancing evaluation with Q-methodology 549 Chad Oatley, Kevin Harris and Steven Henderson 29 Process tracing methods in evaluation 570 Estelle Raimondo and Derek Beach 30 Synergies between program evaluation and lean management 587 Yvonne M. Watson 31 Serious games for evaluation 608 Karol Olejniczak and Igor Widawski 32 Crowdsourcing in evaluation 631 Tarek Azzam 33 Bringing a futures mindset to evaluation 649 Jewlya Lynn, Katri Vataja and Rose Thompson Coon 34 Using big data to strengthen evaluation 667 Michael Bamberger Conclusion: key trends shaping the field 687 Steven W. Mumford and Kathryn E. Newcomer Index 692