The practice of evaluation includes related techniques and forms of analysis which are sometimes confused with evaluation, such as control, management analysis, follow-up, benchmarking, consultancy, applied research and audit. However, the purpose of evaluation is tied indissolubly to the results and impacts of public policies, on a broadly comprehensive view.

Evaluation differs from other forms of monitoring (such as conformity assessment and management analysis) in the point of view from which it examines public policy. Control and audit refer to the internal rules of the assessed system (accounting standards, legal rules, functional norms), while evaluation generally seeks an external understanding of the outcomes and impacts of the assessed action and its intended goals.

Evaluation may nonetheless encompass audit, follow-up reports and management control, along with sociological studies of the reality being considered, insofar as they provide information about the effects to be measured, interpreted and judged. Evaluation is not intended to pass judgment on individual agents carrying out their assigned role, but to promote a culture of accountability and transparency in government interventions.

Evaluation differs from applied research because it involves a value judgment, and, furthermore, it is designed to cater to policy-related and administrative requirements in a swift and timely way.