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In this concluding article, grounded on the exemplary contributions contained in the preceding pages, the guest editors scale the proverbial soapbox and present a manifesto to guide the pursuit and advancement of the next generation of program theorizing. Formulating ten declarations for program theory development and examination, the modest hope of the authors is to motivate and inspire reflective evaluation practitioners to broaden their views, approaches, and techniques for future program theorizing.

This ahead of print version may differ slightly from the final published version.

Gender equality has made its way to the forefront of discussions across various sectors in the Canadian context. Yet the intentional inclusion of gender and other intersectional identity dimensions is just beginning to permeate the realities of performance measurement and evaluation practitioners, particularly those using program theory. There is a vast body of knowledge regarding the measurement of women’s empowerment, gradually declining availability of resources targeting the inclusion of gender in theory, and even less guidance on integrating gender in theory in the context of gendered programming. Similarly, coordinated efforts from multiple sectors have resulted in an abundance of theory regarding girls and women’s representation, recruitment, retention, and promotion within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) but less guidance on the measurement and  evaluation in these areas. This article shares recent efforts to bridge the divide using theory knitting to develop a performance measurement framework addressing the decreasing representation of girls and women across the STEM “leaky pipeline” using the COM-B theory of change model.

Given the potential of the federal program evaluation function to inform decision-making at the highest levels of government, this project sought to investigate the nature and extent to which program evaluation findings are used as part of spending reviews and other reallocation exercises in selected government organizations. The multiple case study design used in this investigation included a qualitative content analysis of evaluation reports published between 2010 and 2013, as well as a series of key informant interviews conducted with evaluation staff and program managers. The findings show very little evidence of strategic evaluation utilization by organizational leaders. This is thought to be due to a few key factors: (a) the requirements of the 2009 Policy on Evaluation that was in effect at the time of the study; (b) the program-level focus of the evaluations; and (c) the public nature of the evaluation reports.

The development of organizational evaluation capacity has emerged in recent years as one mechanism through which evaluators can extend their influence and foster evaluation utilization. However, organizational evaluation capacity is not always easy to define, and internal evaluators sometimes struggle with the identification of concrete activities that might increase their organization's evaluation capacity. This article describes an organizational self-assessment instrument developed for Canadian federal government organizations. The instrument is presented and described, and further details regarding its use and next steps for this area of evaluation research are also provided.

(Book review) Feminist Evaluation and Research: Theory and Practice, Sharon Brisolara, Denise Seigart, and Saumitra SenGupta