The Politics Of Program Evaluation

by Palumbo, Dennis J.

• ISBN13: 9780803927377
• ISBN10: 0803927371
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1987-12-01
• Publisher: Sage Pubns

Summary

Evaluation and politics are related in a number of ways. While programme evaluators have traditionally tried to be neutral, objective and scientific in their assessment of programmes, the results of evaluation are inherently political -- and are used by politicians, programme administrators, special interest groups and other stakeholders for political purposes. The effectiveness of evaluation depends upon incorporating political reality into evaluation. This book takes the first steps to help evaluators do this. The contributors, distinguished evaluation researchers and policy analysts, argue that since evaluation cannot be divorced from its political context, the political dimension must be understood in order to conduct effective evaluations. They provide diverse perspectives on the political nature of evaluation and the role of the evaluator in politics and policy.

Table of Contents

The Political Context of Evaluation

Introduction

Politics and Evaluation

Where Politics and Evaluation Research Meet

Evaluation Politics and the Policy Cycle

Linking Program Evaluation to User Needs

Evaluation's Political Inherency

Practical Considerations for Design and Use

What Should Evaluation Mean to Implementation?

Policy Termination as a Political Phenomenon

Evaluation Politics and Research Methods

The Countenances of Fourth-Generation Evaluation

Description, Judgement and Negotiation

The Influence of Theory on What We See

The Political Uses of Evaluation Research

Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Cotton Dust Standard

The Politics of Meaning

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