Foundations and Evaluation: Contexts and Practices for Effective Philanthropy

Foundations and Evaluation: Contexts and Practices for Effective Philanthropy is a textbook published in August 2004 by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley. The book's editors are Marc T. Braverman, Norman A. Constantine and Jana Kay Slater.

The book seeks to advance the practice of evaluation in the field of philanthropy. It contains essays from three U.S. foundation presidents: Hodding Carter III, who led Knight Foundation 1997-2005; Michael Howe, who led The East Bay Community Foundation from 1993-2006; and Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The book contains 14 chapters authored by foundation and evaluation professionals.

The authors include: Michael Scriven, past president of the American Educational Research Association and the American Evaluation Association; Michael Quinn Patton, past president of the American Evaluation Association one of only two recipients of both the Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Award (awarded by the Evaluation Research Society and subsequently by the American Evaluation Association) for "outstanding contributions to evaluation use and practice" and the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for lifetime contributions to evaluation theory (awarded by the American Evaluation Association); and Peter Dobkin Hall, Professor of History and Theory in the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, and Senior Research Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE: UNDERSTANDING FOUNDATIONS AS A CONTEXT FOR EVALUATION

1 Using Evaluation to Advance a Foundation’s Mission 3 Laura C. Leviton and Marian E. Bass

2 A Historical Perspective on Evaluation in Foundations 27 Peter Dobkin Hall

3 Foundations and Evaluation as Uneasy Partners in Learning 51 Mark R. Kramer and William E. Bickel

4 Building Strong Foundation-Grantee Relationships 76 Michael Quinn Patton, John Bare, and Deborah G. Bonnet

5 Evaluation as a Democratizing Practice 96 Jennifer C. Greene, Ricardo A. Millett, and Rodney K. Hopson

6 Integrating Evaluation into Foundation Activity Cycles 119 Laura C. Leviton and William E. Bickel

PART TWO: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR EVALUATION PRACTICE

7 Making Judgments About What to Evaluate and How Intensely 145 Melvin M. Mark and William L. Beery

8 Adapting Evaluation to Accommodate Foundations’ Structural and Cultural Characteristics 166 Ross F. Conner, Victor Kuo, Marli S. Melton, and Ricardo A. Millett

9 Field-Based Evaluation as a Path to Foundation Effectiveness 185 Patricia Patrizi and Edward Pauly

10 Strategies for Smaller Foundations 201 Marli S. Melton, Jana Kay Slater, and Wendy L. Constantine

11 Strategies for Comprehensive Initiatives 223 Debra J. Rog and James R. Knickman

12 Appraising Evidence on Program Effectiveness 236 Norman A. Constantine and Marc T. Braverman

13 Evaluative Thinking for Grantees 259 E. Jane Davidson, Michael M. Howe, and Michael Scriven

14 Communicating Results to Different Audiences 281 Lester W. Baxter and Marc T. Braverman