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Developmental evaluation and the ‘Stronger Economies Together’ initiative in the United States

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  • Honadle, Beth Walter
  • Zapata, Marisa A.
  • Auffrey, Christopher
  • vom Hofe, Rainer
  • Looye, Johanna

Abstract

This article describes a developmental evaluation and explains its impact on the Stronger Economies Together (SET) initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Nation's four Regional Rural Development Centers and Land-Grant universities. Through a dynamic process, this evaluation of the early phases of an initiative led to continuous program alterations based on feedback. The relationship of the evaluation team to the initiative's coordinating team enabled seamless transfer of observations, suggestions, and recommendations to decision makers. The multidisciplinary character of the evaluation team provided a diverse set of perspectives with a depth of subject matter and knowledge from relevant fields. One lesson is that developmental evaluators must be flexible, nimble, creative, and adaptive. When expected data are imperfect or nonexistent, the team must collect alternate information and make recommendations to improve data collection. As the initiative proceeded and modifications came about, the evaluation team had to recognize the changes in the program and focus on different questions. This experience with developmental evaluation provides insights into how interdisciplinary teams may need to change course and conduct a developmental evaluation when a formative evaluation was originally envisioned.

Suggested Citation

  • Honadle, Beth Walter & Zapata, Marisa A. & Auffrey, Christopher & vom Hofe, Rainer & Looye, Johanna, 2014. "Developmental evaluation and the ‘Stronger Economies Together’ initiative in the United States," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 64-72.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:epplan:v:43:y:2014:i:c:p:64-72
    DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2013.11.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Honadle, Beth Walter, 2001. "Rural Development Policy in the United States: Beyond the Cargo Cult Mentality," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 31(2), pages 1-16.
    2. Brown, J. Lynne & Kiernan, Nancy Ellen, 2001. "Assessing the subsequent effect of a formative evaluation on a program," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 129-143, May.
    3. Beth Walter Honadle, 2011. "Rural development policy in the United States: a critical analysis and lessons from the “still birth” of the rural collaborative investment program," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 56-69, January.
    4. Beth Walter Honadle, 1993. "Rural Development Policy: Breaking the Cargo Cult Mentality," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 7(3), pages 227-236, August.
    5. Cherniss, Cary & Fishman, Daniel B., 2004. "The Mesquite `MicroSociety' school: identifying organizational factors that facilitate successful adoption of an innovative program," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 79-88, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chapman, S.A. & Goodman, S. & Jawitz, J. & Deacon, A., 2016. "A strategy for monitoring and evaluating massive open online courses," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 55-63.
    2. Shea, Jennifer & Taylor, Tory, 2017. "Using developmental evaluation as a system of organizational learning: An example from San Francisco," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 84-93.

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