Advances in collaborative evaluation

Collaborative evaluation is an approach that offers, among others, many advantages in terms of access to information, quality of information gathered, opportunities for creative problem-solving, and receptivity to findings. In the last decade, collaborative evaluation has grown in popularity along with similar participatory, empowerment, and utilization-focused evaluation approaches. Increasingly, it has brought together evaluators and stakeholders from different sectors, disciplines, and cultures to exchange knowledge on how collaboration can be used as a strategic tool for fostering and strengthening evaluation practice. O'Sullivan (2004) and Rodríguez-Campos (2005, 2008) brought forward collaborative evaluation conceptual frameworks that distinguished it from other approaches. This article updates those conceptual frameworks and discusses key collaborative evaluation advances in order to further clarify and facilitate engagement in sound practice.