Description

In today’s world, evaluators must be flexible and responsive in order to best deal with the ever shifting environmental conditions that they face on the job. While the deficit-based approaches which have shaped evaluation practice over the years are important to master, a newer technique called Appreciative Inquiry offers evaluators an additional, viable lense through which to view their work. Appreciative Inquiry is the search for what aspects of an organization are effective and hold the key to innovation and growth. In this text, Hallie Preskill and Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas-who have integrated Appreciative Inquiry into their own practices-introduce readers to the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry and how it related to evaluation. Drawing on case examples, the text explains the way that this particular approach has been used to frame, design, and conduct evaluations in various sectors worldwide, and then goes on to teach audiences how to apply Appreciate Inquiry approaches to various aspects of their own evaluations. Moreover, the work instructs users on how to build evaluation capacity using Appreciative Inquiry. Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry is the perfect guide to this asset-based approach for consultants in non-profit, private, and government sectors, evaluators, and instructors alike. The text is particularly well suited for evaluation workshops and graduate courses which require students to practice evaluation. It is also an ideal supplement to the more general evaluation texts that are typically used in introductory program evaluation courses. Features and Benefits: Written in a clear and accessible style that appeals to those new to Appreciate Inquiry and Evaluation, as well as those who are familiar with one or both disciplines Comprised of numerous U.S.-based and international case examples that demonstrate the use of Appreciative Inquiry in evaluations Includes a matrix of cases to help us

In today's world, evaluators must be flexible and responsive in order to best deal with the ever shifting environmental conditions that they face on the job. While the deficit-based approaches which have shaped evaluation practice over the years are important to master, a newer technique called Appreciative Inquiry offers evaluators an additional, viable lense through which to view their work. Appreciative Inquiry is the search for what aspects of an organization are effective and hold the key to innovation and growth. In this text, Hallie Preskill and Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas-who have integrated Appreciative Inquiry into their own practices-introduce readers to the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry and how it related to evaluation. Drawing on case examples, the text explains the way that this particular approach has been used to frame, design, and conduct evaluations in various sectors worldwide, and then goes on to teach audiences how to apply Appreciate Inquiry approaches to various aspects of their own evaluations. Moreover, the work instructs users on how to build evaluation capacity using Appreciative Inquiry. Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry is the perfect guide to this asset-based approach for consultants in non-profit, private, and government sectors, evaluators, and instructors alike. The text is particularly well suited for evaluation workshops and graduate courses which require students to practice evaluation. It is also an ideal supplement to the more general evaluation texts that are typically used in introductory program evaluation courses.

Features and Benefits:

* Written in a clear and accessible style that appeals to those new to Appreciate Inquiry and Evaluation, as well as those who are familiar with one or both disciplines
* Comprised of numerous U.S.-based and international case examples that demonstrate the use of Appreciative Inquiry in evaluations
* Includes a matrix of cases to help users easily locate particular types of case studies and identify the contexts in which those studies took place
* Contains a comprehensive bibliography that includes web resources

About the Author
Hallie Preskill, Ph.D., is a Professor of Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She teaches graduate level courses in program evaluation (introductory and advanced), organizational learning, consulting, and organization and training design, development, and delivery. She coauthored Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (Preskill & Torres, 1999), Evaluation in Organizations: A Systematic Approach to Enhancing Learning, Performance & Change (Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2001), Evaluation Strategies for Communication and Reporting: Enhancing Learning in Organizations (Torres, Preskill & Piontek, 2004), and Building Evaluation Capacity: 72 Activities for Teaching and Training (Preskill & Russ-Eft, 2004). Preskill also coedited Using Appreciative Inquiry in Evaluation (Preskill & Coghlan, New Directions for Evaluation #100, 2003) and the Human Resource Development Review (Russ-Eft, Preskill & Sleezer, 1997). She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association and the Academy of Human Resource Development and is the section editor of the Teaching Evaluation column in the American Journal of Evaluation. She received the American Evaluation Association’s Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Award for Outstanding Professional Practice in 2002 and the University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004. For over 20 years, she has provided workshops and consulting services in the areas of program evaluation, training, and organization development. She has also written numerous articles and book chapters on evaluation methods and processes, and has conducted program evaluations in schools and health care, nonprofit, human service, and corporate organizations. Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas, M.P.P., is President of ENCOMPASS and brings 18 years of experience in planning, evaluation, and management of international program and activities to the table. Ms. Catsambas has pioneered the development, refinement, and implementation of appreciative evaluation methods. She presented in a panel on appreciative evaluation at the American Evaluation Association (AEA) in November 2002, and delivered workshops in 2002 and 2003. She has coauthored two chapters for a New Directions in Evaluation Journal on appreciative evaluation methods. She holds a Masters of Public Policy from Harvard.