title: When (not if) evaluation flexibility is desirable. Examples from the CPHPE initiative.
abstract: The evaluation literature often debates whether evaluators should be flexible in evaluation design and activities in order to collaborate with program directors and be responsive to programming needs. Two conditions are specified under which evaluation flexibility is not only desirable but essential. Two examples from the cluster evaluation of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's Community Partnerships for Health Professions Education initiative are provided to illustrate why flexibility under these conditions proved to be essential. One of the examples, related to the "community" involvement in the initiative, illustrates the need for flexibility as programs experience goals clarification. The other example, related to the coincidental national health care reform efforts, illustrates the need for flexibility both to capture programs' efforts to protect their integrity and to ensure against spurious conclusions as a result of external turbulence in policy environments. How the cluster evaluation team addressed these issues is also described.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Michigan State University, Lansing 48824, USA. Larry.Hembroff@ssc.msu.edu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hembroff
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perlstadt
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Weissert
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bland
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Knott
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Starnaman
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States