Whatever methods and frameworks we use, we tend to rely on the scientific, the 'objective' data and evidence; we have been socialized to view it as the most reliable and honest evidence. We privilege this knowledge over other forms of knowledge, and so privilege the producers of scientific
How good are we at defining and judging 'success' - the essence of what evaluators do? Let us consider a pertinent example: Every year the aid industry spends a quarter of its funding, around US$15 billion, on 'capacity development' (CD). So-called 'state-building'
In my previous post I started to make the case for the evaluation of transformative change and transformative development in a way that recognises the differences between what we call the Global South and Global North, and that then shapes our practice accordingly - including our evaluation questions and criteria. Viewing
I do not do "development evaluation". I do not practice the evaluation OF development. I evaluate FOR development. There is a difference. These days we are told that the need for the special category called "development evaluation" has receded because all countries are actually "developing&
Back to blogging after a hiatus of three months during which I travelled too frequently for work assignments. Pressurised schedules do not support writing, but I am hoping to change this over the next month on the road from Beijing to Nairobi to Cape Town to Maastricht. There is much
I have come to the conclusion that nearly everything in life is influenced by power. Yet we almost never evaluate for it. It is difficult to be powerless and happy. The type and extent of the power we want will differ from person to person, depending on our circumstances and
