In this practice paper I examine the evaluation of one project and ask whether or not the evaluation failed. I suggest that because I was unaware of the larger connections between the grant agency and the grantee I made tactical errors in the presentation of findings, which resulted in not simply disagreement but anger and resentment. I conclude that evaluators might take better care in understanding larger institutional dynamics as well as the emotional magnitude of the project and of those being evaluated. The evaluation was not a failure from an empirical standpoint but it did demonstrate my inexperience in considering how the evaluation might be interpreted. Thus, I suggest that the evaluation failed in at least one respect: it foreclosed the possibility for thoughtful consideration and incorporation of the evaluation's insights and findings. This failure, however, produced a gain: understanding conflict itself as evidence.