UCLA

The use of evaluation findings and process continues to be of central interest to the evaluation field. Understanding the ways in which individuals learn or change their attitudes and behavior due to their involvement in the evaluation of a program has become crucial when identifying the effect that evaluations have on stakeholders, programs, and organizations. Several studies have analyzed the influence that evaluation findings and the evaluation process have on program managers, funders, and program staff, and how this leads to modifications or improvement of programs and organizations.

A stakeholder group that has not been studied is the program recipients. Perhaps this is due to program recipients rarely participating in evaluations other than to provide data through filling out surveys or participating in interviews or focus groups. The extent to which program recipients experience process use has never been systematically explored.

Through observations, interviews, survey data, and a focus group, this study examines the process use of program recipients who participated in the evaluation of the Welcome Baby program, a program dedicated to supporting pregnant women and mothers of newborns from low-income areas. Specifically, the primary objectives of this current research study were to understand: 1) what program recipients learned from their participation in the evaluation and what changes in their attitude and affect or in their actions and behavior occurred; and, 2) the relationship between different categories of process use.

Findings provide evidence that participating in evaluations affect program recipients. Through such exposure to this kind of experience, program recipients reflected on what is important for them and their families and, in addition, gained knowledge and expertise about evaluations. Moreover, program recipients changed their attitude and behavior, and took actions based on what they learned from the evaluation experience.

Overall, these findings suggest that evaluations are being underused and show that the evaluation of Welcome Baby is itself an intervention that supports the intended program outcomes. In addition to determining if a program is achieving its goals, evaluations can also assist programs in actually achieving them.