The Organizational Evaluation Capacity Assessment Instrument is based on a framework of organizational evaluation capacity developed by Bourgeois and Cousins (2013). The instrument is meant to highlight organizational evaluation capacity in six main dimensions, which constitute the main sections of the instrument (divided into “capacity to do” and “capacity to use” evaluation)
One instrument should be completed per organization. In many instances, the person completing the instrument may need to draw on the knowledge and opinions of other organizational members. This can include (but is not limited to): senior executives, program managers, corporate staff, etc. These individuals can be consulted in a number of different ways, depending on the individual and the situation (e.g., formal or informal interviews, departmental evaluation committee meetings, written communications, etc.). We encourage you to complete it in a workshop format, where the group can discuss the ratings to be given to each item. We have often found that these discussions end up being as valuable as the completed instrument results.
To learn more about the conceptual framework on which the instrument is based as well as how it was developed and validated, please see these two papers:
- Bourgeois, I., & Cousins, J.B. (2013). Understanding dimensions of organizational evaluation capacity. American Journal of Evaluation, 34 (3), 299-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214013477235
- Bourgeois, I., Toews, E., Whynot, J., & Lamarche, M. K., (2013). Measuring organizational evaluation capacity in the Canadian federal government. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 28 (2), 1-19. https://evaluationcanada.ca/system/files/cjpe-entries/28-2-001.pdf
The instrument has been used as part of several different research projects and publications. The following list provides basic details about each study as well as key references: