The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
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New & Noteworthy: Expanded Web Only Version
This web only version of the New & Noteworthy section features an expanded annotated list of papers, organizations, initiatives, and other resources related to the issue's theme of Democratic Evaluation.
Evaluating Evaluation Data
Kathleen McCartney and Heather Weiss of the Harvard Graduate School of Education describe the conditions for evaluations to maintain scientific integrity and serve the public good despite a politicized environment.
Program Evaluation in a Democratic Society: The Vera Model
Tim Ross, Research Director at the Vera Institute of Justice, explains Vera's rigorous and multitiered data collection process and the benefits of partnerships with public programs.
Getting Creative in Holding Officials Accountable
Dennis Arroyo describes the performance-monitoring mechanisms that nongovernment agencies use to make public officials accountable to citizens.
The Many Forms of Democratic Evaluation
Ernest House, Emeritus Professor at the University of Colorado, argues that democratic evaluation calls for more ingenuity than other forms of evaluation and that as a result its methods can take many forms.
Combining Research Rigor and Participatory Evaluation
Anju Malhotra and Sanyukta Mathur from the International Center for Research on Women describe a study in Nepal that compared participatory and more traditional approaches to evaluating adolescent reproductive health interventions.
Twists and Turns in the Journey: Youth Activists' Use of Research in Their Campaigns for Small Schools
Kristine Lewis shares Research for Action's experience with training youth to use social science research methods in their campaigns to im-prove their local high schools.
Democratic Evaluation
This issue of The Evaluation Exchange periodical focuses on democratic evaluation. At the forefront of the discussion are equity and inclusion in the evaluation of programs for children, families, and communities, as well as evaluation to promote public accountability and transparency. Katherine Ryan leads off the issue by presenting major theoretical approaches to democratic evaluation. Several contributors examine these different strands, highlighting the importance of power sharing. Jennifer Greene emphasizes the importance of broad inclusion of stakeholder perspectives in evaluations, while Saville Kushner offers guidelines for people and communities to help evaluation reposition itself as a collaborative effort and thereby begin to address the crisis in public trust between the professional bureaucracy and citizens. Kathleen McCartney and Heather Weiss focus on public accountability, especially the conduct of flagship evaluations to maintain their scientific integrity while also serving the public good. Several contributors provide practical methods and tools to promote democratic evaluation, including the facilitation of dialogue, the training of youth researchers, the use of photovoice and cell phone technology, and access to interactive information through the Internet.
Free. 20 Pages.
A Conversation With Jennifer Greene
Jennifer Greene of the University of Ilinois talks about her efforts to advance the theory and practice of alternative forms of evaluation, including qualitative, participatory, and mixed-method evaluation.
Democratic Evaluation in Practice
Cheryl MacNeil, an evaluation consultant, describes the asymmetries of power in evaluation and her efforts to make her evaluation practice more democratic.
Social Capital in the Connected Society
Andrew Nachison, director of the Media Center, an organization that studies the intersection of media, technology, and society, writes about social capital and democratic processes in a digital society.
Using Democratic Evaluation Principles to Foster Citizen Engagement and Strengthen Neighborhoods
Arnold Love and Betty Muggah describe how Hamilton Community Foundation applied democratic evaluation principles to transform challenged neighborhoods into vibrant communities.
After School Evaluation Symposium
This 2-day meeting brought together the perspectives of diverse stakeholders to inspire new ideas and foster stronger links between research, practice, and policy. Participants discussed issues of access, quality, professional development, the role of evaluation research, and systems-building efforts.
Free. Available online only.
The Evidence Base for Increasing High-Achieving Minority Undergraduates
Mehmet Öztürk discusses findings from a review of evaluations of programs at selective colleges and universities to be used for improving undergraduate academic outcomes for underrepresented minority or disadvantaged students.
Building a Pipeline Program for Evaluators of Color
Rodney Hopson and Prisca Collins of Duquesne University describe a new graduate internship program designed to develop leaders in the evaluation field and improve evaluators' capacity to work responsively in diverse racial and ethnic communities.
The Retrospective Pretest: An Imperfect but Useful Tool
Theodore Lamb, of the Center for Research and Evaluation at Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, discusses retrospective pretests and their strengths and weaknesses.
New & Noteworthy
The New & Noteworthy section features an annotated list of papers, organizations, initiatives, and other resources related to the issue's theme of Evaluation Methodology.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Evaluation Methodology by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Evaluation Theory or What Are Evaluation Methods for?
Mel Mark, professor of psychology at the Pennsylvania State University and president-elect of the American Evaluation Association, discusses why theory is important to evaluation practice.
Eight Outcome Models
Robert Penna and William Phillips from the Rensselaerville Institute’s Center for Outcomes describe eight models for applying outcome-based thinking.
Evaluation and the Sacred Bundle
John Bare of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation explains how nonprofits can learn about setting evaluation priorities based on storytelling and “sacred bundles.”
Assessing Nonprofit Organizational Capacity
Abby Weiss from HFRP describes the tool that the Marguerite Casey Foundation offers its nonprofit grantees to help them assess their organizational capacity.
What is strategic learning and how do you develop an organizational culture that encourages it?
John A. Healy, Director of Strategic Learning and Evaluation at The Atlantic Philanthropies, shares ways to position learning as an organizational priority.
What is the Campbell Collaboration and how is it helping to identify “what works”?
Robert Boruch, a founder of the Campbell Collaboration and professor of education and statistics at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses how the Campbell Collaboration and randomized trials contribute to evidence-based policy.
Evaluation Methodology
This issue of The Evaluation Exchange periodical focuses on evaluation methodology, covering topics in contemporary evaluation thinking, techniques, and tools. Mel Mark, president-elect of the American Evaluation Association, kicks off the issue with a discussion about the role that evaluation theory plays in our methodological choices. Other voices in the issue include Georgia State University evaluator Gary Henry, who makes the case for a paradigm shift in how we think about evaluation use and influence, and Robert Boruch, a Campbell Collaboration founder, who discusses the role of randomized trials in defining “what works.” Other contributors to the issue respond to various “how to” questions, such as how to foster strategic learning, how to find tools that assess nonprofit organizational capacity, how to select and use various outcome models, how to increase the number of evaluators of color, how to enhance multicultural competency in evaluation, and how to measure what we value so others value what we measure. Finally, the issue explores theory of change, cluster evaluation, and retrospective pretests—methodological approaches currently generating much interest and dialogue.
Free. 20 Pages.