THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUND EVALUATION METHODS HAS NOT BEEN MATCHED BY AN EQUIVALENT WIDESPREAD USE OF THE TECHNIQUES IN THE FIELD. THE PRESPECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH HERE IS THAT THE ADOPTION OF EVALUATION METHODOLOGY IN HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS IS BOTH A SOCIAL PROBLEM AND AN IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE ISSUE. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE OF INNOVATION RESEARCH INDICATES THAT PARRTICIPATIVE DECISIONMAKING IS RELATED TO CHANGE INTERVENTIONS. THE PRESENT STUDY EMPLOYS A FACTORIAL EXERIMENTAL DESIGN TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION AND FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL ADOPTION OF AN INNOVATION. IT INVOLVES THE EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATION OF FOUR DIFFERENT CONSULTATION INTERVENTIONS: GROUP VERSUS PRIVATE CONSULTATION AND ONSITE VERSUS TELEPHONE CONSULTATION. A FACTORIAL EXPERIMENT, WITH A SAMPLE OF 37 DRUG ABUSE PROGRAMS, WAS CONDUCTED TO TEST TWO HYPOTHESES: (1) GROUP CONSULTANTS WITH A STAFF WOULD PRODUCE MORE INNOVATION ADOPTION THAN PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS, AND (2) ONSITE CONSULTATIONS WITH FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS WOULD PRODUCE MORE INNOVATION ADOPTION STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE FIRST HYPOTHESIS AND MORE AMBIGUOUS SUPPORT FOR THE SECOND. DATA TABLES A RATING SCALE, AND 21 REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)