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Evaluation capacity building in complex organizations
Author(s) -
TaylorPowell Ellen,
Boyd Heather H.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
new directions for evaluation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.374
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1534-875X
pISSN - 1097-6736
DOI - 10.1002/ev.276
Subject(s) - clarity , extension (predicate logic) , logic model , component (thermodynamics) , capacity building , computer science , field (mathematics) , knowledge management , management science , process management , public relations , business , political science , engineering , public administration , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , mathematics , pure mathematics , law , thermodynamics , programming language
Evaluation capacity building, or ECB, is an area of great interest within the field of evaluation as well as in Extension evaluation. Internal Extension evaluators have long offered training and technical assistance to help Extension educators conduct evaluation. Today ECB in Extension encompasses myriad activities and processes to advance evaluation practice and evaluative thinking. They can be described in a three‐component framework: professional development, resources and supports, and organizational environment. This chapter describes the Extension experience, highlighting practices and challenges within each component, and presents the case of logic model dissemination as an illustration. The authors discuss the distinction between evaluator and ECB practitioner and call for clarity in purpose, role delineation, and expectations. They include a simple logic model for evaluating ECB, which focuses on linking ECB investments to individual, team, program, and organizational change. The authors conclude with a list of their own learnings and reflections as they have faced the challenges and many rewards of building evaluation capacity in complex organizations. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.