Acquiring Knowledge of Implementation and Change

Abstract

There has been an increasing interest in evaluation strategies that encourage utilization. This article outlines a set of guiding principles that can lead to the more effective instrumental use of evaluation findings. These principles suggest that an evaluator needs to be involved in the action and change that emerge from the evaluation findings. These findings imply an extension of the range of expertise over and above skills currently associated with an effective evaluator, to include those expected of an effective change agent within agencies and organizations.This article is designed to contribute to the debate about increasing the impact of evaluations. Specifically, it is concerned with strategies designed to increase the instrumental use of program evaluation findings, that is, action consistent with the conclusions or recommendations that emerge from an evaluative activity.Elsewhere, we have put forward a metamodel of evaluation usage (Owen 1992) in which enlightenment represents an essential &dquo;first-order&dquo; use. Enlightenment means that audiences gain fundamental knowledge of the plan and conduct of the evaluation and a conceptual understanding of the findings related to the intervention. In some evaluations, particularly those associated with policy (Weiss 1988) and megaprograms (Owen 1993), enlightenment represents a legitimate end point in an evaluation chain. The lack of a clear conceptualization of enlightenment has meant that, until recently, it has not