Preface to an unpublished manuscript by Thomas Schwandt

This invited commentary, given at an institute of public health research on a medical school campus, begins by distinguishing evaluation from assessment to ensure that readers share my understanding of the object of analysis. Having set that stage, I submit some observations about the conventional frame for evaluating public programs and policies. I then offer some thoughts on where I believe the field is heading, or perhaps ought to be heading. Much of the substance of this paper draws from a book that my colleague, Emily Gates, and I have prepared on the roles of values, valuing, and evaluating in social research.