Conceptions of use are grounded within a common conception that use and influence can be traced to evaluation findings or to the knowledge outputs of evaluative activities. Yet a qualitatively different type of use and impact began to emerge from evaluation practice and research on it. This other sort of consequence -- process use -- appeared to be attributable to something wholly independent of evaluation findings, specifically, the activities or processes of evaluation as opposed to its products or outputs. This volume is a multifacted exploration of process use; it includes methodological, empirical, and conceptual inquiries as well as rich narrative forays into the domain of evaluation practice. Such a comprehensive approach serves to deepen understanding of process use as being pivotal in contemporary theory on evaluation consequences.

This is the 116th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, a publication of Jossey-Bass and the American Evaluation Association. The journal publishes empirical, methodological, and theoretical works on all aspects of evaluation.