Organizations are required to evaluate their programs for both learning and accountability purposes, which has increased the need to build their internal evaluation capacity. A remaining challenge is access to tools that lead to valid evidence supporting internal capacity development. The authors share practical insights from the development and use of the Evaluation Capacity Needs Assessment tool and framework and implications for using its data to make concrete decisions within Canadian contexts. The article refers to validity evidence generated from factor analyses and structural equation modelling and describes how applying the framework can be used to identify individual and organizational evaluation capac­ity strengths and gaps, concluding with practice considerations and future directions for this work.

This reflective essay traces the development of an evaluation capacity building network within the early childhood development field. First, we describe the context for building the network using a community-based participatory approach and provide rationale for our specific focus on early childhood development. Second, we provide an explanation of the purpose and processes involved in three areas of significant engagement: partner, stakeholder, and student. We reflect on the methods of engagement used across these three areas and their impact on the outcomes that we achieved. Finally, we conclude the paper with some final considerations for guiding engaged scholars and with the next steps in our own work.

The increased complexity of contexts that Canadian evaluators work in has important implications for evaluation education. Internship is a valued training component, yet what remains to be identified are empirically based quality indicators of the experience. Analyses of interviews with an intern, mentor, and coordinator supplemented by field notes revealed key features suggesting three influential mentoring practices: orientation to workplace context, autonomy of supervisory approach, and planning for evaluation agility. Implications for evaluation practice and evaluator induction are discussed in light of the Competencies for Canadian Evaluation Practice and three areas infl uenced by Dr. Lyn Shulha.La complexité grandissante des contextes dans lesquels les évaluateurs canadiens travaillent a des conséquences importantes pour la formation en évaluation. Les stages sont une composante prisée de la formation, mais nous manquons encore d’indicateurs qui permettraient d’évaluer la qualité de cette expérience. Une analyse d’entrevues avec des stagiaires, mentors et coordonnateurs, complétée par des notes d’observation, révèle des caractéristiques clés qui suggèrent trois pratiques signifi antes de mentorat : l’orientation en contexte de travail, l’autonomie au niveau de l’approche de supervision et l’anticipation du besoin d’adaptation de l’évaluation. Nous discutons des répercussions pour la pratique de l’évaluation et pour l’initiation des évaluateurs au regard des compétences pour les évaluateurs canadiens et des trois domaines infl uencés par Mme Lyn Shulha.

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For this special issue, our article provides an illustrative example of data integration in a complex mixed methods design. It advances three mixed insights about the evaluation capacity needs of the early childhood field generated by using a mixed methods community-based participatory research (MMCBPR) design. We integrated quantitative findings from an evaluation capacity needs assessment toolwith qualitative themes from community consultations. Findings highlight the pressingneed for practices aimed at enhancing individual capacity through skills-based training, shifting organizational learning culture through resource investment, and cultivating interdependencies between organizational evaluation culture and individual evaluation capacity through engagement and collaborations.