Abstract
In Europe as elsewhere the initiatives required to create a more equitable society have become harder to formulate – and to evaluate. Since 2008, income inequality has increased relentlessly. Forty percent of the world’s wealth is owned by the richest one percent of the global population while the poorest half own only one percent. The lack of broad based consensus about the ends and means of achieving peace, prosperity and equity has led expert observers to announce a crisis in economic theory.
Paradoxically this is opening up a window of opportunity for the evaluation discipline: the demand for tailor made and formative evaluations focused on real life problems and grounded in democratic values is rising exponentially. Evaluation is being called upon to make a difference. How should the evaluation discipline respond? Is it equipped to take on the diverse, unprecedented and interconnected challenges of economic disparities, social unrest and governance dysfunctions?
How should the enabling environment for evaluation evolve to meet the challenges of social inclusion and environmental sustainability? Are contemporary evaluation models, practices and priorities fit for purpose? These are key agenda items for the Eleventh EES Biennial Conference that will take place in Dublin (Ireland) on 1–3 October 2014 (with preconference workshops on 29–30 September 2014) when evaluators from all over Europe and beyond will come together to engage in reflection and debate about the role of evaluation in a changing world.
Conference themes: Independence, Partnership, Participation
Now more than ever independence matters to the validity and integrity of evaluative processes. As the evaluation discipline endeavours to contribute to an equitable society it should assert its independence, reach out to partners and empower disadvantaged groups through participation. Against this background, the Eleventh Biennial Evaluation Conference of EES will probe not only the technical aspects of evaluation methods and tools but also the potential and limitations of current evaluation approaches and models, the ways in which institutional structures can support social learning and the strategies to be adopted for evaluation to become a fully fledged profession operating in the public interest.
Independence is the foundation of valid and objective evaluative processes since protection from vested interests is a prerequisite of evaluation excellence. But independence should not lead to isolation. The citizen should come to the centre stage of the evaluation process. Amplifying the voices of neglected groups and leveling the playing field of policy formation will need to be emphasized for evaluation to be legitimate.
It follows that participation in evaluation (as well as evaluation of participation within on-going political processes) will have to articulate the values, interests and concerns of disadvantaged communities and groups. To this end evaluation will increasingly promote inclusive decision making through agenda setting, broad based stakeholder involvement and deliberative evaluation processes. New dynamics of affirmative and inclusive evaluation will be fashioned at the intersection of diverse cultures and traditions.
Finally, without partnerships cutting across the public, private and voluntary sectors the evaluation community will not be able to contribute to a more equitable society. The complex and ‘wicked’ problems currently faced by policy makers do not respect national boundaries. Nor can they be identified, analyzed and solved without drawing on a wide variety of disciplines.
Gone are the days when evaluators could work effectively in a solo mode, without recourse to one another or to other disciplines. In the current operating environment evaluation coalitions will have to be forged to achieve results. Evaluators will have to master the new information and communication technologies in order to implement real time evaluation processes. More inclusive and reliable indicators of human progress will have to be framed.
The Conference programme will not be limited to these topics. As in past years the European Evaluation Society will offer its members a state of the art platform for evaluation managers, researchers, practitioners and commissioners to share a wide range of ideas, insights and opinions relevant to the prospects of evaluation in Europe and beyond. The Conference will also open space for sharing experience and identifying good practices in all major policy areas – economic, social, environmental and cultural. It will help Conference delegates forge links across borders and across disciplines. In a nutshell the EES Biennial Conference promises once again to be the evaluation event of the year by providing an effective and friendly platform for professional networking, principled debate and intellectual exchange.
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For further information, please see: http://www.ees2014.eu/