Community-Based Organizations and State Initiatives: The Negotiation Process of Program Evaluation.

States have become powerful authorizing environments for creating policies focused on the evaluation of social welfare programs (Bell, 1994; Patton, 1997; Posavac and Carey, 1997). State-mandated evaluation policies create an environment wherein community-based organizations that receive grant contracts must constantly negotiate evaluation plans, not only with the state but with other critical stakeholders. The renegotiation process between key stakeholders can present many challenges for the completion of an effective evaluation plan. This chapter outlines the major challenges associated with conducting program evaluation in today’s system of multilevel stakeholders. It concludes by offering recommendations derived from the experiences of conducting a program evaluation in which several stakeholders were intrinsically involved in the evaluation process and results.