Umberto Eco, in the opening pages to his book The Infinity of Lists provides evaluators with a ticklish challenge: stability supports the definitions of a finite form of list, while instability requires a reforming of an idea with the recognition that the list of its attributes is likely to contain
The OECD/DAC criteria have been under review and debate since 2018. As Zenda Ofir explained in her widely discussed blog series, the criteria work when applied to relatively straightforward interventions that come with simple results chains. But they appear inadequate when we frame development as a complex adaptive system,
I head the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) of the Green Climate Fund, an office that was founded only two years ago. Since that time the IEU has transitioned from a one-person operation to an organisation with many young, passionate, professionals who take on tasks vital to our work. Many
Zenda's invitation to contribute to her blog with some tips "from the Global South" for Young and Emerging Evaluators has made me reflect on how to help newcomers to the evaluation field avoid common mistakes and break paradigms in this era where transformations are required so
We live in an era of 'big data' and 'big information'. We work in an increasingly quantified world devoid of the nuance that qualitative information provides. We also live in an era of 'scanning'. We don't want to read or know detail.
Sustainable development consists of satisfying the needs of the present generation without compromising the capacity of future generations to meet their own needs, which implies achieving, in a balanced manner, social and economic development, as well as caring for the environment. Achieving this development entails unprecedented challenges in the current
I have long thought that evaluators don't define 'success' in meaningful ways. Now highly respected economist Matt Andrews has just released a very useful working paper that confirms how much more carefully we need to think about this important concept. Most of our definitions and measurement
The final session of the 2018 American Evaluation Association meeting was devoted to engaging with youth in evaluation; the wonderful surprise was that the panelists were all youth who had worked as evaluators on projects in which they explored strategies for meaningful engagement. The session was chaired by Katie Richards-
Assumptions are what we believe to be true. They may be explicit or implicit. Unexamined or tacit assumptions can be a risk to program success or evaluation quality because they are not explicitly voiced and not necessarily understood by others. We can't avoid making assumptions because we can&
Top Tip. Make sure you recognise and internalise the multiple facets of evaluation as a social practice. The practice of evaluating social and educational programs is a complex task, as are most professional activities. Evaluation involves wise judgment about which evaluation approach(es) are most appropriate for the context at
