Until recently, anthropologists have had little involvement in the evaluation of social welfare and social change programs, despite the fact that such research involves not only the quantitative assessment of program results, but also analysis of informal structures and processes through which goals are formulated and results achieved. This paper considers the relevance of anthropological method and theory to such research. A detailed examination of the author's evaluation of a federal program demonstrates that while problems exist and new middle-level theory must be developed, anthropological perspectives do provide important insights and understandings. Future prospects for such anthropological research look exceedingly bright. (Author)