"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIt,

Increased utilization of evaluation results has been the primary rationale for the development of participatory or stakeholder approaches. The assumption is that participation by various constituents in the evaluation process will increase their understanding of and commitment to the use of evaluation results. Another rationale for implementing a participatory evaluation approach is empowerment. This paper explores evaluation as empowerment and the possible linkages between empowerment and increased utilization of evaluation results. Evaluation has been conceptualized as explanation (Cronbach, 1980), social utility (Scriven, 1976), Judgement (House, 1980), as a process of understanding (Stake, 1983) and negotiation (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). Evaluation as empowerment assumes that underlying issues of power are a central question in conceptualizing what both the task of evaluation and the process are all about. The key question, then, is not whether evaluation is related to empowerment, but whose interests does the evaluation serve? Viewing evaluation as empowerment has clear implications for the role of evaluator. While Cronbach (1980) sees the evaluator as public scientist, Eisner (1983) suggests the role of connoisseur/critic and Stake (1984) describes the evaluator as educator, the role of the evaluator in an empowerment formulation becomes that of enabler. Here, attention is focused primarily on the evaluation process (rather than the product), assisting stakeholders to participate and share power effectively. Finally, possible linkages between empowerment and the increased use of evaluation results are examined, with stakeholder empowerment seen as a mediating variable between participation and utilization. The conceptualization for this paper is based on a case study of a participatory evaluation in which empowerment of the stakeholders was a primary objective. Specific examples from the study are used to illustrate the theoretical principles discussed.