Evaluation Management: How to Commission and Conduct Evaluations that Matter

Evaluation Management: How to Commission and Conduct Evaluations that Matter helps evaluation teams and commissioners achieve results that meet utilization and organizational learning goals and inform positive change for programs and communities. Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas and E. Jane Davidson provide insights on both the tactical and strategic levels of evaluation management, using approaches and skills from project management, administration and logistics, budgeting, team management, leadership development, communication, coaching, systems thinking, and negotiation. They also demonstrate how intentionality for equity, sustainability and culturally responsive practices is essential for ensuring an evaluation’s relevance and enhancing productive stakeholder engagement. With plenty of practical guidance from many years of experience, the authors provide a valuable resource for student readers, experienced evaluators, and commissioners of evaluation.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. Overview Of Evaluation Management What Is Evaluation Management? Whose Job Is Evaluation Management? What Tasks Does the Evaluation Management Job Entail? What Are the Key Evaluation Management Competencies? Conclusion Chapter 2. Commissioning Great Evaluations Deciding Whether and What to Evaluate Evaluation Criteria and Scoping Determining the Best Way to Contract an External Evaluation Getting Practical: The Process of Writing an Evaluation Terms of Reference Selecting a Strong Evaluation Team (or Sole Evaluators) Selecting the Best Evaluation Implementor Building Capacity in Commissioning Evaluation Chapter 3. Pre-Start Up: Analyzing the Evaluation Requirements Pre-Proposal: Understanding the Terms of Reference Responding to the Terms of Reference Clarifying, Negotiating, and Selection Upon Evaluation Contract Award Chapter 4. Managing The Evaluation Contract Start-Up Evaluation Management Structure Goals of Evaluation Start-Up Starting in the Middle Key Evaluation Start-Up Tasks Chapter 5. Managing The Evaluation Team Goals of Team Management in Evaluation Configurations of Evaluation Teams Managing Team Performance Managing Multiple Evaluation Teams at the Same Time Chapter 6. Managing Data Collection Prior to Initiating Data Collection Early in Data Collection Active Data Collection Managing and Archiving Data Communication Good Monitoring Practices Addressing the Unexpected Chapter 7. Managing Data Analysis Role and Scope of Data Analysis in an Evaluation Important Questions in Data Analysis The Cost of Skipping Data Analysis The Role of the Evaluation Manager in Data Analysis Chapter 8. Managing Evaluation Reporting Principles and Practices of Good Reporting Written Reports The Debriefing Meeting Reviews and Approval Chapter 9: Managing Evaluation Use and Influence No, 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 Influence Managing Context and Politics Managing the Process and Stakeholder Engagement Developing an Evaluation Use and Influence Strategy Involving Key Influencers in Evaluation Strengthening Evaluation Culture and Capacity While Facilitating Evaluation Use Chapter 10. Building Evaluation Management Capacity for Evaluation Commissioners Building a Strong Evaluation System Evaluation Culture Evaluation Competencies for Commissioners of Evaluation The Operational Level of Evaluation References Index

About the Author :
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.

Review :
Evaluation quality and use depend on evaluation management. That makes this book essential for all evaluation professionals and commissioners of evaluations. This is a comprehensive "one-stop shop" guide for evaluation practitioners and evaluation managers: practical, succinct, and full of common-sense advice and wisdom. It shows that the authors speak from experience and expertise. A savvy introduction to evaluation management by authors who had, independently from each other and almost alone in the community, provided insight on this topic. Evaluation will look more significant and worthwhile if managed the way it is suggested in this book. Catsambas and Davidson provide a practical, easy-to-read overview of how to manage program evaluations.