CJPE Tribute to John Mayne

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of CJPE Editorial Board Member John Mayne. John’s contributions to the CJPE started with our very first issue in 1986, in which he published two articles. The first was a letter to the Editor, published in English and French, in which John addressed negative media coverage of the federal evaluation function. He took exception to the criticisms levied against our “fledgling profession” and highlighted the innovative contributions of federal evaluators to the program review conducted by the Nielsen Task Force. The second reviewed the history of ongoing program performance information systems and program evaluation initiatives in the Government of Canada, a topic that still bears relevance today. John’s work has always integrated evaluation theory and practice, with a view to improving both how we conduct evaluations and how they can best be used. John was a treasured contributor and friend to the Canadian Journal of Evaluation; he published no fewer than 19 papers, starting with his defense of the function in 1986, to our most recent issue, published in December 2020. His papers on contribution analysis (2001, 2010, 2014, 2019) and on theory of change models (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) have been read widely and have influenced an entire generation of evaluators, both in Canada and abroad. John also contributed to advancing the debate on evaluation through his papers on performance stories (2004, 2006), the link between evaluation and audit (2005, 2006), and how evaluation must transform to meet current and ongoing societal challenges (2006). In addition to these written contributions, John joined the Editorial Board of the CJPE in 1994. He was always generous with his time, whether to provide advice to the Editors-in-Chief or to review manuscript submissions. 

 

The CJPE Editorial team extends its most sincere condolences to John’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time. He will be missed.

 

The CJPE Editorial Team:

 

Isabelle Bourgeois, Editor-in-Chief

Stéphanie Maltais, Editorial Coordinator

Jill Chouinard, Associate Editor, Research and Practice Notes

Jane Whynot, Associate Editor, Book Reviews

Johann Jacob, Associate Editor, Networking

Christine Vandenberghe, Social Media Coordinator