Two decades of evaluating evaluation capacity building: A bibliographic coupling review

Abstract

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) has emerged as a dominant tool in evaluation. Several reviews have taken stock of ECB over the past 20 years, examining how understanding of ECB has developed over time. By examining this existing research on the evaluation of ECB design, effectiveness, measurement, integration, and sustainability, opportunities to advance the field's existing knowledge base around ECB evaluation forward become apparent. This landscape review uses bibliographic coupling and content analysis to offer a robust analysis of publications on the evaluation of ECB. The results of this review of multidisciplinary ECB publications shed light on areas of strength within the existing literature and identify opportunities to build upon current scholarship. Promising areas for future research include exploring how moderators and mediators influence ECB outcomes, eliminating threats to internal validity in ECB studies, and strengthening the rigor required for external generalizability.