The “Process” of Process Use

Abstract

Process use refers to the ways in which stakeholders and/or evaluands change as a function of participating in evaluation activities. Although the concept of process use has been well discussed in the literature, exploration of methodological strategies for the measurement and assessment of process use has been limited. Typically, empirical research on process use has been limited to cross-sectional studies in single-site evaluation projects. In this method note, we present a longitudinal study of process use in a multisite evaluation project. Stakeholders’ changes in learning, attitudes, and behavior/action were assessed at three time points: prior to the onset of evaluation consultation; near the conclusion of a 1-year participatory consultation project; and 6–8 weeks after the termination of the project. Results showed that different domains of process use had differential development over time. Implications for measuring process use are discussed.