Evaluation policy has been identified as an important means of shaping and influencing organizational evaluation practice, yet, to date, little empirical research has been conducted to deepen our understanding of this relationship. The purpose of this study was to illuminate evaluation policy’s role in leveraging organizational capacity to do and use evaluation. We interviewed 18 published evaluation scholars and practitioners from North America and Europe about this topic. A thematic analysis of findings underscores the importance of context, policy attributes, enablers, and organizational benefits. Based on the findings, we developed an ecological conceptual framework to guide thinking about the role of evaluation policy in capacity building. We discuss these findings in terms of practical implications of understanding context, redressing the imbalance between learning and accountability purposes of evaluation, and organizational leadership, and we conclude with some implications for research.

评估政策已被确定为塑造和影响组织评估实践的重要手段，但迄今为止，很少有实证研究可以加深我们对这种关系的理解。本研究的目的是阐明评价政策在利用组织能力进行和使用评价方面的作用。我们就此话题采访了来自北美和欧洲的 18 位已发表的评价学者和从业者。对调查结果的专题分析强调了背景、政策属性、促成因素和组织利益的重要性。基于调查结果，我们开发了一个生态概念框架，以指导思考评估政策在能力建设中的作用。我们根据理解上下文的实际意义讨论这些发现，