Implementation analysis
9.3 In the literature
There is no unique definition of implementation analysis in the evaluation literature (Brousselle, 2004). Some authors call it ‘implementation analysis’ and others call it ‘process analysis’. For some, it largely overlaps with ‘implementation monitoring’ but for others there is no overlap (Brousselle, 2004; Champagne et al., 2011b; Love, 2004; Rossi et al., 2019; Scheirer, 1994; Weiss, 1998).
Initially, implementation evaluation was similar to discrepancy evaluation (Provus, 1971). The idea was to determine how far the program could deviate from the ideal and at what point it could be considered an acceptable variant of the original idea, rather than a completely new program (Patton, 1997). Subsequently, authors have taken positions to define implementation evaluation. It is striking how much the objectives of this type of evaluation can vary among authors, as well as the variety of subtypes that can be distinguished. Implementation evaluation is found under two names: process evaluation and implementation evaluation (Brousselle, 2004; Chen, 2005). (Free translation, Brousselle et al., 2006, p. 64)
The field has not arrived at a consensus on what it encompasses.
