Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are “long-term, mutualistic collaborations between practitioners and researchers that are intentionally organized to investigate problems of practice and solutions for improving outcomes” (Coburn et al., 2013, p. 6).

RPPs have long focused on partnerships between researchers and practitioners, but evaluators work in many of the same roles that researchers in RPPs do. For instance, effective RPPs collaborate with practitioners, build capacity to do and use research, and require communication skills and strategies to promote use. These skills and practices are not necessarily taught (or even valued, in some cases) in research contexts but play critical roles in effective evaluation work.  These practices are embodied in the Program Evaluation Standards, American Evaluation Association's (AEA) Guiding Principles for Evaluators, AEA's newly developed Competencies for Evaluators, and the long and rich history of research on evaluation use (see Alkin & King, 2016, 2017 for reviews).

The way evaluators work with practitioners could provide useful insights for researchers in RPPs on methods for promoting use. Two theories or approaches in evaluation are particularly useful:

Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE) is evaluation conducted with the purpose of promoting specific, intended use of the evaluation process and results for specific, intended users (Patton, 2008). This is done through attention to evaluation tasks and relationships: “in an evaluation context, the tasks focus concerns the primary intended uses of the evaluation and how those uses will be achieved. The relationships focus concerns how the evaluator works with and relates to primary intended users to enhance the likelihood of use”. According to UFE, evaluation is most useful when evaluators attend to both tasks and relationships, though high quality relationships must be there for evaluations to get used. UFE provides a checklist of tasks to promote use from the beginning through the end of an evaluation (Patton, 2011).

Interactive Evaluation Practice

Interactive Evaluation Practice (IEP) is “the intentional act of engaging people in making decisions, taking action, and reflecting while conducting an evaluation study” (King & Stevahn, 2013, p. 14). IEP is focused on the people in the evaluation and the interpersonal skills and interactions necessary to promote use. The core principles for IEP include get personal, structure interaction, examine context, consider politics, expect conflict, and respect culture. IEP provides a list of strategies that can be used to promote high quality interactions among partners as well as methods for managing conflicts among partners.

Conclusion

The field of evaluation—aligned with yet different from research—has much to offer those working in or researching RPPs. These two evaluation theories are particularly useful as they are expressly focused on promoting use. Stay tuned for a future post, as this topic is one of the central topics of my dissertation!

References

Alkin, M. C., & King, J. A. (2016). The historical development of evaluation use. American Journal of Evaluation, 37(4), 568–579. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214016665164

Alkin, M. C., & King, J. A. (2017). Definitions of evaluation use and misuse, evaluation influence, and factors affecting use. American Journal of Evaluation, 38, 434–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214017717015

Coburn, C. E., Penuel, W. R., & Geil, K. E. (2013). Practice partnerships: A strategy for leveraging research for educational improvement in school districts. William T. Grant Foundation. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED568396

King, J., & Stevahn, L. (2013). Interactive evaluation practice: Mastering the interpersonal dynamics of program evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452269979

Patton, M. Q. (2008). Utilization-focused evaluation (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Patton, M. Q. (2011). Essentials of utilization-focused evaluation. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE Publications, Inc.