Evaluation exchange, special issue on democratic evaluation

This special issue of Evaluation Exchange focuses on democratic evaluation and includes discussions on equity and inclusion of a variety of community-focused programs.

It also covers using evaluation to promote accountability and transparency.

Abstract

"Katherine Ryan leads off the issue by presenting major theoretical approaches to democratic evaluation. Several contributors examine these different strands, highlighting the importance of power sharing. Jennifer Greene emphasizes the importance of broad inclusion of stakeholder perspectives in evaluations, while Saville Kushner offers guidelines for people and communities to help evaluation reposition itself as a collaborative effort and thereby begin to address the crisis in public trust between the professional bureaucracy and citizens. Kathleen McCartney and Heather Weiss focus on public accountability, especially the conduct of flagship evaluations to maintain their scientific integrity while also serving the public good. Several contributors provide practical methods and tools to promote democratic evaluation, including the facilitation of dialogue, the training of youth researchers, the use of photovoice and cell phone technology, and access to interactive information through the Internet." (Weiss, Ed., 2005)

Contents

  • Theory & Practice
    • Approaches and evaluator roles 2
  • Promising Practices
    • Scientific integrity 4
    • The Vera model 5
    • Public accountability 6
    • Ingenuity in evaluation 7
    • Participatory approaches 8
  • Beyond basic training
    • Youth activists as researchers 9
  • Questions & answers
    • A conversation with Jennifer Greene 10
  • Spotlight
    • Asymmetries of power 12
    • Social capital online 13
  • Evaluations to Watch
    • Transforming neighborhoods 14
    • Community organizing groups 16

Sources

Weiss, H. B., (Ed.). (2005). Evaluation Exchange, XI (3). Retrieved from https://archive.globalfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/democratic-evaluation

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