Evaluation has never been neutral. Throughout history, the act of assessing has served as both instrument of control and catalyst for justice. This post examines how power, politics and ideology have always shaped what gets evaluated, by whom, and for what purpose.
As we chart evaluation’s future, its earliest beginnings continue to shape the field. From ancient Egypt’s Nile governance to China’s imperial examinations, from Indigenous knowledge systems to Athenian civic audits – a vivid journey through five millennia of evaluative practice.
I re-post this post - originally published on Evaluating Sustainable Development Goals. "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." "It is well for the heart to be naïve and for the mind not to be."
This is an expanded version - especially in terms of key messages for evaluation professionals - of a post that I wrote as part of a series this week for US Labour Day. Do you know that every cup of coffee you drink in your favourite chain of coffee shops pushes a
How can we evaluate well if we are not aware of the often 'single stories' that shape how we view the world and do our work? This aspect of evaluation has been an important focus for me over the years. I am therefore very pleased that the fascinating
In this short series of posts about the NICE Framework I argue for more intensive and creative research and innovation in evaluation - especially research that is rooted in, and respectful of important nuances in different societies. We need to create a strong research agenda for evaluation with solid linkages to
We still have many opportunities to re-imagine evaluation and to combine this with the best evaluation knowledge we already have available. Indigenous evaluators in Latin America, as well as nearly all evaluators in Africa and Asia can still do much to consider what evaluation would have looked like "
It is in the West, primarily in the US, where systematic evaluation as we practice it today originated sometime in the early part of the last century. (Of course, we should remember that the Chinese were the first to develop systematic evaluative action for decision-making already during the Han
We need "Evaluation with African Characteristics" - in how we conceptualise evaluation and in how we lead and shape it in the interest of development on the continent. Instead of thinking about what this means, we tend to slavishly teach and use evaluation theory and practices imported from outside
What is Made in Africa Evaluation (MAE) - a term coined by the African Evaluation Association - or what some call Africa-centric Evaluation? It is simply evaluation that is (i) rooted in Africa and/or (ii) led by Africans for African contexts. There is a simple yet important notion behind this
