| Abstract:
The utility and value of evaluation are largely determined by the questions asked and answered. Explicitly evaluative questions are the best source of actionable answers because they ask directly about quality, value, and/or importance. How can evaluators work with stakeholders to generate a concise set of 'big picture' questions that will guide a truly useful evaluation? What evaluation-specific logic and methodology is needed to answer those questions? And, how can all this help evaluators minimize the incidence of - and respond constructively to - criticisms or accusations of subjectivity or bias? To answer explicitly evaluative questions, it is vital that definitions of quality/value (i.e., "how good is good?") are clear, transparent, and based on sound needs assessment and other relevant sources. This session presents a number of simple but powerful tools and strategies that can make participatory and other evaluations more credible, useful, valid, and a powerful springboard for improvement and change.
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