Nonprofits and evaluation: Managing expectations from the leader's perspective

The role of nonprofit human service executive directors in their organizations' program evaluation process is described. Recognizing that the leader's perspective from within the organization is fundamental to building capacity for and utilizing program evaluation, this study examines 42 executive directors to determine how they view program evaluation and what steps they took, if any, to build capacity for it in their organizations. The author explains how executive directors who recognize the external and internal organizational contexts for program evaluation, and who effectively balance the external pull with the internal push, are more likely to build long‐term capacity for program evaluation. This involves various aspects of leadership commitment, including prioritizing, driving the process, managing the political environment, and incorporating organizational learning.