Since 2009, the National Asthma Control Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has required funded state asthma programs to develop strategic evaluation plans that encompass multi-year evaluation portfolios. These strategic plans are intended to help programs plan, implement, and use evaluation to build program and evaluation capacity sequentially and systematically. Well conceptualized evaluations can support program improvement and maximize value from limited evaluation resources. If developed through a strategic process, planning for evaluation is also a key factor in building evaluation capacity. In this session we explore our approach to applying strategy to development of evaluation portfolios. During this panel, presenters will orient attendees to the rationale behind this new strategy, describe what makes strategic evaluation planning unique, share information about the strengths and weaknesses of this process, and offer examples of how strategic evaluation plans can facilitate comprehensive evaluation efforts in large programs. #HealthEvaluation #2011Conference #EvaluationPolicy #OrganizationalLearningandEvalCapacityBuilding