Editors' Call - Join the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation Editorial Board

2026-04-17

The Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE) is seeking to fill three section editor roles on our editorial board. We invite new voices and viewpoints that will further the journal’s mission as section editors for the Research on Evaluation, Reviews of Evaluation Resources, and the Teaching of Evaluation sections.

JMDE is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to freely publishing and disseminating work that contributes to evaluation theory, methods, and practice.

We invite all interested evaluation practitioners, scholars, and graduate students to apply. Full section descriptions can be found at https://bit.ly/JMDE-Sections.

We hope you will consider contributing your time and talents to creating a space for open-access evaluation dialogue. Applications will be accepted through May 11, through the following submission form: https://bit.ly/JMDE-editor-app-2026.

If you’re not up for an editorial role just yet, JMDE always welcomes new reviewers and special issue editors, especially graduate students of evaluation. To become a reviewer, visit jmde.com and click “Register” in the top right corner.

Please get in touch with the co-executive editors, Lyssa Wilson Becho (lyssa.becho@wmich.edu) and Michael Harnar (Michael.harnar@wmich.edu), with any questions or clarifications.

Thank you for supporting the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation. We strive to continue to make JMDE a journal for you and for anyone interested in advancing the scholarship, theory, and practice of evaluation.

Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE) Issue #51 Is Available Now

2025-08-09

We’re excited to announce the release of the latest issue of the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE)! This issue features a diverse collection of research articles, case studies, and thought-provoking ideas that reflect our journal’s mission to advance the theory and practice of evaluation across disciplines.

Explore the table of contents below to discover insights, practical methodologies, and innovative approaches to evaluation:

Research Articles

Research on Evaluation Outside Journal Publications: An Analysis of Proposals Accepted for the 2019 American Evaluation Association Annual Conference. By Dana Linnell, Esther Nolton, Travis Moore, Michael Harnar, and Seema Mahato.

Embracing and Incorporating Evidence-Based Data, An Evaluative Culture, and Transformational Vision to Inform and Shape Decision Making in the Caribbean as the Region Recalibrates its Developmental Agenda Post COVID-19. By Nadini Persaud.

What’s a Girl Gonna Do? Understanding Evaluation Theory from a Critical-Postcolonial Lens. By Tyler Clark, Brianna Hooks Singletary, Malitsitso Moteane, and Aileen Reid.

The Role of Theory in University Evaluation Coursework. By Divya Varier, David Marshall, and Kate Kuehn.

Case Studies

Case Studies in Empowerment Evaluation: Restorative Practices Interventions in Educational Contexts. By Sheila McMahon, Gwynn Alexander, and Heather Kimball.

Implementing Photovoice in School-based Evaluations: Navigating Challenges and Leveraging Benefits. By Mostafa Hanafy, Melissa Goodnight, and Valerie O'Brien.

Ideas to Consider

What’s at Stake? Decolonization of Terminology in the United States. By Nicholas Gathings and Jennifer Merry

Transforming Evaluative Thinking: Some Ideas from Bateson. By Eric Einspruch and Zhaonan Zhu

Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE) Issue #50 Is Available Now

2025-05-28

We are excited to announce a special edition of the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation that explores evaluation theory and practice development over the past 40 years, specifically looking at the influence and legacy of Ray C. Rist at the helm of the International Research Group for Policy and Program Evaluation (better known as INTEVAL). Although told through the lens of Ray’s career and his contributions to the field, readers unfamiliar with Ray or INTEVAL will find important lessons on growing the evaluation field through personal and professional development, examples of using evaluation as a means to fight social injustice, cases of what the institutionalization of evaluation systems look like in real-world settings, and models of how principles of open collaboration lead to generative evaluation practices. 

Explore the table of contents below to discover this unique perspective on the development of evaluation theory and practice:

• Linking Evaluation Theory and Practice: Exploring Ray Rist’s Enduring Legacy
  • Richard Boyle, Drew Koleros, Rob D. van den Berg
• From Perpetuation to Disruption of Disadvantages: Learning from a Young Ray Rist and Implications for the Future of the Field of Evaluation
  • Sanjeev Sridharan, April Nakaima
• The International Research Group of Policy and Program Evaluation (INTEVAL): A Celebration of Meetings, Publications, and Leadership
  • Andrew Gray, Ida Lindkvist
• From Ten Steps to Ten themes: Consequential Contributions in the Collective Compositions of Ray C. Rist
  • Michael Quinn Patton
• How It All Started and How It Evolved: Ray’s Whip
  • Nicoletta Stame
• Building a Mountain of Evaluative Evidence, 2004-2014
  • Rob D. van den Berg
• From Ongoing Streams of Evidence to Final Synthesis
  • Juha I. Uitto
• Moving from Studies to Streams: A More Radical Way to Avoid Floods of Evidence by Channeling Evaluative Efforts in Conditions of Complexity
  • Tom Ling
• Carrots, Sticks, and Sermons – the Triad and the Book
  • Evert Vedung
• Typology of Carrots, Sticks, and Sermons: Tracing Its Influence on the Discipline of Public Policy
  • Karol Olejniczak, Tomasz Kupiec, Dominika Wojtowicz
• Evaluation, Inteval, and Two National Audit Offices (U.S. GAO & Netherlands Court of Audit): Ray Rist’s Contributions and Leadership in the Early Years of INTEVAL
  • Frans L. Leeuw
• Ray Rist: An Evaluator at the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
  • Maria Barrados
• Democracy, Accountability, and Evaluation
  • Jan-Eric Furubo
• Elusive Accountability: Evaluation in the Time of Pandemic
  • Kim Forss, Jens Andersson
• INTEVAL as a Positively Charged Social Network
  • Per Øyvind Bastøe, Anita Haslie
• The Road Toward Institutionalizing Evaluation in Developing Countries: Following the Path of Ray Rist
  • Robert Lahey
• Capacity Development in Evaluation: The Role of the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET)
  • Jos Vaessen
• The Interplay of Tangibles and Intangibles in Evaluation
  • Mita Marra
• From Studies to Systems: Ray Rist’s Influence on Evaluation Systems: Insights from International Research Group for Policy and Program Evaluation (INTEVAL)
  • María Bustelo, Steve Jacob
• Conclusions on the Way Forward for Evaluation in Difficult Times
  • Richard Boyle, Drew Koleros, Rob D. van den Berg

Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE) Issue #49 Is Available Now

2025-01-29

We’re excited to announce the release of the latest issue of the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE)! This issue features a diverse collection of research articles, case studies, and thought-provoking ideas that reflect our journal’s mission to advance the theory and practice of evaluation across disciplines.
Explore the table of contents below to discover insights, practical methodologies, and innovative approaches to evaluation:
Research Articles

• Investigating Equity and Social Justice within Programs: A Framework of Evaluative Criteria
  • Rebecca M. Teasdale, Cherie M. Avent
• Implementation Fidelity: The Disconnect Between Theory and Practice
  • Christopher Rhoads, Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, Kylie Anglin, Catherine Lewis

Case Studies

• Rubrics Methodology in Detail: Helping Save The Children Turn Children's Experiences of Discrimination and Exclusion into Rich, Trackable Outcomes
  • E. Jane Davidson, Thomaz K. Chianca, Nicole Dulieu, Anil Sigdel
• Complexity-Aware Evaluation for Learning: A Case Study of a Developmental Approach
  • Eureta Rosenberg, Karen Kotschy, Sharon Pollard
• Thinking and Feeling Matter: Utilizing Impact Assessment and Photovoice to Evaluate a Community Program
  • Wing Chung Ho

Ideas to Consider

• Theories of Change for Complex Sustainability Transformations: Mobilizing the Potential of Redefining the Relationship Between Humans and Nature
  • Tilman Hertz
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology’s Unique Contribution to Evaluation
  • Jonny Morell, Theresa LeGros
• Using Competency-Informed Tasks to Guide Evaluation Capacity Strengthening
  • Lori Wingate, Kelly Robertson

Access the Full Issue
This issue is now available for free on the JMDE website. Visit www.JMDE.com to read and download these articles today. 

Visualizing Evaluation Theory Special Issue of JMDE

2024-08-19

We are excited to announce the publication of a special issue of the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation focused on visualizing evaluation theory. Evaluation theory has and continues to play an important role in the practice and profession of evaluation. Over the years, and as the range of evaluation theories has continued to grow, evaluation scholars and practitioners have developed various visualized classification frameworks of evaluation theory, invoking images such as trees, rivers, the periodic table, metro maps, concept maps, and most recently gardens. This special issue explores different visualizations of evaluation theory and discusses their benefits and implications for the practice and profession of evaluation. We hope you find this interesting, informative, and useful.

Special Issue Memorializing Dr. Michael Scriven

2024-06-21

When Dr. Scriven died on August 28, 2023, we lost a legend and an important voice in the evaluation field. Surely, his impact will be explored for years to come. Given Scriven’s role, along with Dr. E. Jane Davidson, in founding JMDE, we created this special issue for those who knew him to say a few words about their perceptions of his impact. Our initial compass for this special issue dedicated to Scriven was three-fold. Firstly, as he was a champion of JMDE and a frequent contributor, we were in a unique position to look back through the journal’s history and summarize his published contributions. Secondly, some expressed the desire to revisit and reinvigorate some of Scriven’s contributions. Finally, we wanted to provide a venue for more personal reflections on how Scriven impacted individual lives. Taking time to reflect on personal and professional relationships with Scriven and his intellectual contributions has given contributors to this issue a way to remember and say thank you. We hope that these contributions do some justice to Dr. Michael Scriven’s legacy, remind you of his role in our discipline’s development, and focus your attention, for more than a few moments, on the intellectual giant that left us.