Eval Cafe: New and Emergent Directions in Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Abstract: A new co-authored 5th edition of Utilization-Focused Evaluation (U-FE) has just been published. This new edition for the first time presents principles of U-FE that connect theory with practice, questions with methods, and findings with follow through actions. The evaluation profession has adopted a commitment to equity and sustainability.  We join that commitment. This new edition presents the role of U-FE in addressing issues of equity and sustainability in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and the global social justice uprising.  As evaluators, we have a stake in having our evaluations used – and we have a stake in a more equitable and sustainable world. The implications for U-FE are substantial, dramatic, and controversial. This session will discuss these issues in both professional and personal terms.  

 

Presenter: Michael Quinn Patton, Ph.D., Founder & Director, Utilization-Focused Evaluation and Charmagne E, Campbell, Ph.D., Director of Organizational Learning and Evaluation