Exploring the Edges: Identifying the Next Generation of Evaluation Capacity Building Research and Practice Through Adjacency

Abstract

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) is a well-established domain of scholarship and practice within the broader field of evaluation. Stemming from a concern to ensure sustainable and useful evaluation practices in organizations, ECB draws on several evaluation theories and approaches such as collaborative evaluation and utilization-focused evaluation. In a recent integrative review, the authors and their colleagues identified other theories, frameworks, and models that inform ECB; many of these were developed in other fields, such as social sciences and public administration. The present exploratory study sought to identify some of the knowledge and theories that inform ECB from other fields through a review of 47 “ECB-adjacent” articles. This article describes the various themes and topics included in these articles to formulate potential future avenues for ECB research and practice.