Evaluation, Ahead of Print.
The term “evaluation framework” and other associated terms are common in the practice and the discipline of program evaluation. These terms correspond to a variety of meanings across contexts and organizations and, thus, tend to lack overall consistency. In response, this article provides a model to analyze frameworks for program evaluation organized around four dimensions. The model states that a framework for evaluation is an intellectual framework made of concepts and/or theories (first dimension: types of ideas) about an object related to evaluation (second dimension: object), where the said concepts and theories can be positive and/or normative (third dimension: analytical perspective). These three dimensions provide the means to describe, explain, or judge an evaluation-related matter. A fourth and optional dimension, the institutional character of a framework, allows an evaluation framework to become a form of regulation for behaviors related to program evaluation (fourth dimension: institutional dimension).