Evaluation Management

Anastasia (Tessie) Tzavaras Catsambas is the founder and CEO/CFO of EnCompass LLC, an organization of 250 staff that provides services in evaluation, learning, leadership, and organizational development. Ms. Catsambas brings 30 years’ experience in planning, evaluation, and organizational development. She has managed large-scale, international evaluations, delivered training in different aspects of evaluation, and advocated for evaluation at global level. She is an instructor for the EnCompass Learning Center teaching appreciative evaluation, evaluation management, and gender transformative evaluation. Ms. Catsambas is an innovator and practitioner in appreciative evaluation, a methodology that incorporates the systematic study of successful experiences in evaluation, and has co-authored a book entitled, Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry (Sage 2006).Ms. Catsambas is a Past-President of the American Evaluation Association. She was a founding member of the EvalPartners Coalition, a global initiative to promote the use of evaluation to inform policy and program decisions and received the 2015 EvalPartners Award in recognition of her contributions. Ms. Catsambas holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from the College of Wooster in Ohio and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University. She has trained with the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming in Total Quality Management. She is fluent in French and Greek and speaks Spanish.E. Jane Davidson is an internationally recognized evaluation specialist, best known for developing evaluation rubrics as a methodology for drawing conclusions about quality and value. She has also made significant contributions in the areas of causal inference for qualitative and mixed methods, and in synthesis methodologies for evaluation.Dr. Davidson is sought after internationally as a speaker and workshop presenter for her signature approach of methodologically robust but refreshingly practical evaluation with breathtaking clarity.She has presented keynotes and invited workshops in the US, Canada, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.She is former Associate Director of the internationally recognized Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University, where she launched and directed the world’s first fully Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation. She was the 2019 recipient of the American Evaluation Association’s prestigious Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award.

Evaluation quality and use depend on evaluation management. That makes this book essential for all evaluation professionals and commissioners of evaluations.

• Chapter 1. Overview Of Evaluation ManagementWhat Is Evaluation Management?Whose Job Is Evaluation Management?What Tasks Does the Evaluation Management Job Entail?What Are the Key Evaluation Management Competencies?ConclusionChapter 2. Commissioning Great EvaluationsDeciding Whether and What to EvaluateEvaluation Criteria and ScopingDetermining the Best Way to Contract an External EvaluationGetting Practical: The Process of Writing an Evaluation Terms of ReferenceSelecting a Strong Evaluation Team (or Sole Evaluators)Selecting the Best Evaluation ImplementorBuilding Capacity in Commissioning EvaluationChapter 3. Pre-Start Up: Analyzing the Evaluation RequirementsPre-Proposal: Understanding the Terms of ReferenceResponding to the Terms of ReferenceClarifying, Negotiating, and SelectionUpon Evaluation Contract AwardChapter 4. Managing The Evaluation Contract Start-UpEvaluation Management StructureGoals of Evaluation Start-UpStarting in the MiddleKey Evaluation Start-Up TasksChapter 5. Managing The Evaluation TeamGoals of Team Management in EvaluationConfigurations of Evaluation TeamsManaging Team PerformanceManaging Multiple Evaluation Teams at the Same TimeChapter 6. Managing Data CollectionPrior to Initiating Data CollectionEarly in Data CollectionActive Data CollectionManaging and Archiving DataCommunicationGood Monitoring PracticesAddressing the UnexpectedChapter 7. Managing Data AnalysisRole and Scope of Data Analysis in an EvaluationImportant Questions in Data AnalysisThe Cost of Skipping Data AnalysisThe Role of the Evaluation Manager in Data AnalysisChapter 8. Managing Evaluation ReportingPrinciples and Practices of Good ReportingWritten ReportsThe Debriefing MeetingReviews and ApprovalChapter 9: Managing Evaluation Use and InfluenceNo, Evaluation Use and Influence Is Not Only About Implementing Recommendations!What Is the Evaluation Manager’s Job in Evaluation Use and Influence?What Drives Evaluation Use and InfluenceManaging Context and PoliticsManaging the Process and Stakeholder EngagementDeveloping an Evaluation Use and Influence StrategyInvolving Key Influencers in EvaluationStrengthening Evaluation Culture and Capacity While Facilitating Evaluation UseChapter 10. Building Evaluation Management Capacity for Evaluation CommissionersBuilding a Strong Evaluation SystemEvaluation CultureEvaluation Competencies for Commissioners of EvaluationThe Operational Level of EvaluationReferencesIndex