Patton, Michael Quinn

Michael Quinn Patton is an influential American evaluator known for his work in program evaluation and social research. He is recognized for developing practical evaluation methods that assist organizations in assessing and improving their programs. Patton advocates for the use of “utilization-focused evaluation,” which emphasizes creating evaluations that meet the needs of stakeholders and lead to actionable insights. His writings, especially the book "Utilization-Focused Evaluation," have shaped the field, providing guidelines on how to effectively gather and use data to inform decisions and enhance program effectiveness. Patton’s contributions help ensure that evaluations are relevant and useful in real-world contexts.