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Just as there is a need to be clear about the pathways by which an intervention can impact outcomes, there is also a need to be clear about the pathways by which the evaluation can influence future and present “interventions.” Recent evaluation literature describes the multiple individual, peer and collective processes by which evaluations can bring about influence. Such thinking needs to be incorporated in the implementation of the evaluation of interventions. Eventually an evaluation is an investment—there needs to be clarity on the pathways of influence by which the investment will make a difference. |
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Multiple types of learning about the intervention might be possible from an evaluation. These “learnings” include: learning about the impacts, learning about the dynamic processes that might be critical for the intervention to work or the organizational context that might be necessary for the intervention to thrive. All learnings should be guided by the types of information that are needed by stakeholders and the timing of when the information will be useful. This focus on utilization may not be as obvious as it might sound — far too many decisions about evaluation are based on abstract notions of rigor that sometimes do not correspond to generating information in a timely manner that stakeholders will find useful. |
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