The Role of Evaluation Theory and Practice in Narrowing the Research-to-Practice Gap

The research-to-practice gap describes the well-documented phenomena of researchers and practitioners working in silos, embedded in vastly different contexts. This “cultural divide” has several causes, including ineffective collaboration, inadequate understanding of context, and insufficient dissemination and translation of research. Evaluation theory and practice have been largely absent from discussions about solving the research-to-practice gap, despite remarkable alignment between these efforts and the core principles and goals of evaluation. In this article, we describe why the research-to-practice gap exists, current models and frameworks to address the gap, and how evaluation aligns with, and extends, efforts to create a bi-directional bridge between research and practice. This article is a call-to-action for professional evaluators who are poised to narrow this gap given that they work at the intersection of research and practice. Through authentic collaboration, researchers, practitioners, and evaluators can leverage our collective strength to address the pressing challenges faced by our communities.