Conceptual Challenges Confronting Cluster Evaluation

In this paper, the authors describe an approach to evaluating large-scale initiatives that span multiple project sites and respond to multiple evaluation needs at the project and program levels. Known as 'cluster evaluation' by those working with and for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, a pri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evaluation (London, England. 1995) England. 1995), 1997-07, Vol.3 (3), p.300-319
Main Authors: Worthen, Blaine R., Schmitz, Constance C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cluster analysis
Cluster evaluation
Philanthropy
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Summary:In this paper, the authors describe an approach to evaluating large-scale initiatives that span multiple project sites and respond to multiple evaluation needs at the project and program levels. Known as 'cluster evaluation' by those working with and for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, a private philanthropic institution in the US, this approach encounters problems and offers solutions that are similar to other 'devolved' evaluation strategies for dispersed programs in the UK and several other European countries. This paper positions cluster evaluation in the literature and practice of evaluation by (I) describing cluster evaluation's key features, (2) relating it to core concepts in the evaluation field, (3) distinguishing it from other forms of multi-site evaluation, and (4) outlining a number of conceptual challenges that need to be resolved for the approach to achieve broader applicability and success.
ISSN:1356-3890
1461-7153
DOI:10.1177/135638909700300304