Abstract: A comprehensive report describes the first phase of a USDA Food and Nutrition Service evaluation of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The evaluation was conducted to provide information to the US Congress and the Administration for reauthorization legislation in 1984, to provide factual evaluation data for WIC legislative and administrative decision-makers, and to advance the scientific technology for nutrition program evaluation. The report covers a brief summary of the WIC Program. The rationale and objectives of the evaluation and a detailed synopsis of 4 major information gathering activities to guide the selection of research questions and the evaluation design are also covered. The relevant literature concerning appropriate evaluation measures, major extant databases related to the WIC Program, and a telephone survey of WIC agencies are discussed. This information is synthesized into a set of key research questions to be addressed in conducting the WIC Program evaluation through the development of a WIC conceptual model. (wz).