Short Abstract

We examine the intersection of evaluation policy and ECB as a foundation for strengthening evaluation culture within the Canadian federal government by showing how evaluation policies can operate as ECB strategies, and how additional strategies can be leveraged to enhance policy implementation.

Description

Evaluation policy and evaluation capacity are two critical influences on evaluation practice. However, their relationship, including the fact that policy may be considered an ECB strategy in some contexts, remains relatively unexplored in the academic literature. Understanding how these two areas intersect might uncover how evaluation systems operate in practice as well as how certain factors facilitate and hinder policy uptake and implementation.

Evaluation policy is often defined as the rules and principles that guide an organization’s decisions and actions when planning, designing, conducting, reporting, or using evaluations within specific organizational, cultural and/or political contexts (Al Hudib & Cousins, 2022; Christie & Lemire, 2019; Trochim, 2009). Consequently, such policies play a pivotal role in shaping evaluation practice. Like evaluation policy, ECB is context-dependent, offering a range of strategies intended to facilitate and sustain quality evaluations (Bourgeois et al., 2013; Stockdill et al., 2002). ECB strategies may target individuals (e.g., training, technical assistance) or organizations (e.g., building data systems, designating evaluation champions, allocating resources) (Labin et al., 2012; Preskill & Boyle, 2008). Multi-level approaches are typically required because strategies implemented at one level often reinforce those implemented at another (LaMarre et al., 2020). For instance, organizational resources are often needed to support individual training opportunities.

There are several ways in which ECB strategies may intersect with evaluation policy. First and foremost, evaluation policy can be an ECB strategy that builds a common language, improves institutional knowledge, and establishes a long-term vision for evaluation practice (Sutter et al., 2024, p. 537). ECB can also serve as a bridge between policy and practice by developing the capacity of individuals responsible for interpreting and implementing evaluation policy, which helps them recognize and understand key policy requirements. Such strategies may include training, embedding policy language in key organizational documents, and communications materials (e.g., newsletters) (Fierro et al., 2022). Conversely, evaluation policy can drive ECB, as policy requirements guide capacity building strategies and signal where organizations must strengthen their capacity to meet policy expectations (Al Hudib & Cousins, 2022). Together, these perspectives position ECB as a mediating mechanism that enables evaluation policy to move beyond its role as a written directive to one that actively shapes practice. Even the most robust evaluation policies risk remaining aspirational without the necessary individual and organizational capacity to translate policy expectations into effective practice.

Our presentation examines the intersection of evaluation policy and ECB as a foundation for strengthening evaluation culture within the Canadian federal government. Drawing on interviews with federal policymakers, evaluation leaders, and scholars, we will share findings on how federal evaluation policies operate as ECB strategies, how individual and organizational capacities, or the lack thereof, affect the implementation of evaluation policy, and how additional ECB strategies can be leveraged to enhance policy uptake and implementation. The results from this study illustrate the relationship between evaluation policy and ECB, and how this relationship can be leveraged to create environments where evaluation is embedded in organizational culture to support evidence-informed decision-making, continuous learning, and ongoing improvement.