Involving Program Beneficiaries in the Early Stages of Evaluation: Issues of Consequential Validity and Influence

Abstract

Program decision makers are typically involved in many steps of participatory evaluations, including the specification of program attributes that evaluations address. Program beneficiaries should also participate in this early step, however, because their contributions broaden the scope of evaluations, thereby enhancing the consequential validity of findings. In this article, we discuss an approach for involving beneficiaries in specifying program attributes for evaluations to address. Methods are outlined for sharing influence among program decision makers and beneficiaries, with decision makers retaining the authority to make final decisions. We describe an evaluation in which this approach was applied, present evidence on how the approach enhanced consequential validity, and discuss the constraints on its use.