Many thanks for raising this question, which has the potential of doing much good as well as its opposite.
My point of departure regarding evaluation is very simple; could/has a set of actions intended to enhance the lives of a target group attainable/been attained?
If the answer to this question is no/marginally/partially, the set of actions undertaken are flwed in someway. However, such unsatisfactory actions may leave behind excellent motor ways, specialist hospitals, bridges, international airports etc.
The evaluability of the extent to which some public good has been achieved is extremely difficult. When projects i.e., a set of actions is decided on, it is seldom that the actual desires of a target group is consulted in a meaningful way. And even when there is a general agreement in a target group on the desirability of a goal, there may be disagreement on how that objective may be attained. Often, this is due to the cultural norms dominant in that social group or due to the influence of some outside vested interest skilled in propaganda.
Should the evaluator be willing and able to identify and gauge the extent and nature of those three variables during, execution and conclusion of a project, it is possible to undertake remedial adjustments to it in order to increase its success. True, it is difficult, but if undertaken, in the end, it would benefit a group of live people neither who or whose needs are a mere entity.
RE: Evaluability Assessments: An invitation to reflect and discuss
Dear Amy,
Many thanks for raising this question, which has the potential of doing much good as well as its opposite.
My point of departure regarding evaluation is very simple; could/has a set of actions intended to enhance the lives of a target group attainable/been attained?
If the answer to this question is no/marginally/partially, the set of actions undertaken are flwed in someway. However, such unsatisfactory actions may leave behind excellent motor ways, specialist hospitals, bridges, international airports etc.
The evaluability of the extent to which some public good has been achieved is extremely difficult. When projects i.e., a set of actions is decided on, it is seldom that the actual desires of a target group is consulted in a meaningful way. And even when there is a general agreement in a target group on the desirability of a goal, there may be disagreement on how that objective may be attained. Often, this is due to the cultural norms dominant in that social group or due to the influence of some outside vested interest skilled in propaganda.
Should the evaluator be willing and able to identify and gauge the extent and nature of those three variables during, execution and conclusion of a project, it is possible to undertake remedial adjustments to it in order to increase its success. True, it is difficult, but if undertaken, in the end, it would benefit a group of live people neither who or whose needs are a mere entity.
Cheers!
Lal.