2015
The editorial team of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (CJPE) is pleased to announce that volume 30, issue 2 is now published on-line. In conformity with the CES embargo policy, this issue is reserved for CES members until three more issues are added. Reproduced below is the introduction to the issue.
Preparing the editor's remarks for CJPE 30(2) has brought a big smile to my soul. This issue is jam-packed with gems. Covering a wide range of hot and less hot topics, the issue has more than a little bit of something in it for all readers from the many corners of the evaluation community in Canada and abroad.
The research articles span the continuum from theoretical to practical. In typical Mayne fashion, the lead article finally makes sense of one of the most slippery concepts that we toss around — the theory of change. Thanks, John! This article should be read, and its lessons applied, by anybody who dares to use the term. Inching from the more theoretical to the more practical, Svensson and Cousins bring us back once more to the issue of utilization, this time with an innovative twist. This well-rooted and eloquently argued conceptual piece posits that "evaluators may have something to gain by exploring the wealth of digital technologies and social media tools that are available." The third research article will appeal to the methodologists amongst us. Rusticus, Peterson, and Lovato demonstrate the power of intelligent use and sophisticated analysis of existing data for evaluating medical training programs.
Developmental evaluation has starred in several of our recent issues and returns this time with two illuminating illustrations in the Practice Notes section. Both Snow et al. and Andrade et al. cast light on the challenges and opportunities of conducting developmental evaluation in projects that accompanied the implementation of innovative healthcare models. These pieces will certainly be useful for those many of us who are embarking on developmental approaches in new projects. A rare glimpse into innovative approaches to teaching evaluation is provided by McShane et al. Many readers will wish that these had been around when they studied evaluation. Finally, Leclerc and Lessard hit the nail on the head in their Practice Note about evaluating partnerships and collaborations. As these have become the modus operandi of so much programming, evaluators are frequently asked to evaluate them. We now have a solid exemplar from which to learn.
We are indeed fortunate to have such breadth and depth in our community of scholars and practitioners!
Robert Schwartz
Editor-in-chief