CPE Utilization-Focused Evaluation & Decision Making Flashcards

Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE), developed by Michael Quinn Patton, prioritizes:

Answer: Ensuring evaluation findings are actually used by intended users for intended purposes

UFE is premised on the idea that an evaluation's value lies in its use, so it is designed around the needs of specific intended users from the start.

In UFE, 'intended users' are best described as:

Answer: Specific, identified individuals who will apply evaluation findings to decisions

Intended users in UFE are specific, named individuals—not abstract groups—who have a real stake in the evaluation and will use its findings.

Which of the following BEST describes 'process use' in evaluation?

Answer: Learning and changes that occur as a result of participating in the evaluation process itself

Process use refers to the learning and organizational changes that happen because stakeholders are engaged in the evaluation process, independent of the final findings.

A CPE applying UFE principles should identify the primary intended users:

Answer: At the start of the evaluation, before data collection begins

UFE requires identifying intended users at the outset so the evaluation design, questions, and methods can be tailored to ensure relevance and usability.

Which factor MOST threatens the utilization of evaluation findings?

Answer: Findings delivered too late to inform the decision they were meant to support

Timeliness is critical in evaluation use; findings that arrive after key decisions have been made cannot influence those decisions regardless of their quality.

In the context of evaluation decision making, 'formative evaluation' is designed to:

Answer: Improve a program while it is still being developed or implemented

Formative evaluation provides ongoing feedback to program developers and implementers to improve the program during its development or operation.