In its very essence, the concept of evaluation is beautiful, I argued long ago in one of my first blog posts. Evaluation is also in principle powerful, more so than scientific research. Just like science, it aims to produce evidence and useful insights that can improve aspects of the world
Definitions of terms are crucial for common understanding in any field of human endeavour. The diversity of actors entering and playing on the evaluation field is both an advantage and a disadvantage - including in the fact that we do not have a common language. It is both frustrating and enriching
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
Now that the concept of "developing" and "developed" countries is at last unfashionable, is a special focus on "development evaluation" still useful? Is the less emotive, more palatable Global South / Global North terminology more appropriate, and what does this mean for how and what
What? Evaluation is not popular? We know that evaluation can be very valuable. We continue to emphasise its role in "decision-making", "improving interventions", "accountability", "knowledge generation", "planning", "budgeting", "advocacy" - and for "learning" about
We need to get much better at "selling" evaluation (the "E" in "M&E"). This is important especially in the Global South, where evaluation may be particularly valuable in helping those with little hope for a better life. Perhaps this means that we
Is evaluation beautiful? This post argues that evaluation as profession and practice is intrinsically beautiful — rooted in millennia, engaging our deepest capabilities. But how we practise it is often not. A meditation on evaluation’s true value proposition.
