Evolutionary theory, developmental systems theory, and evolutionary epistemology provide deep theoretical foundations for understanding programs, their development over time, and the role of evaluation. This presentation relates core concepts from these powerful bodies of theory to program evolution. The evolutionary developmental view is operationalized in terms of program and evaluation lifecycles, which are in turn aligned with multiple types of validity including viable validity. The resulting framework has important implications for many program management and evaluation issues. The presentation focuses on the appropriate role of randomized controlled trials and proposes a new definition of "evidence-based programs". From an evolutionary developmental perspective, prevailing interpretations of rigor and mandates for evidence-base programs pose significant challenges to program evolution. This perspective also illuminates the consequences of misalignment between program and evaluation lifecycles; the importance of supporting both researcher-derived and practitioner-derived programs; and the need for variation and lifecycle diversity within portfolios of programs.#TheoriesofEvaluation #ResearchonEvaluation #2012Conference #SystemsinEvaluation