On words and concepts

As this webpage is about evaluation, it may be appropriate to define evaluation. There are many definitions around, but I like this one and always use it.

This is a brief and elegant definition, and it is also the least common denominator of what researchers in the field have been able to agree upon. There are a few things to note about the definition.

First, the definition does not specify that evaluations have to be independent; that is, undertaken by independent, unbiased, experts. Evaluations can also be internal, and they can build on stakeholder participation. 

Second, an evaluation is not defined by its purpose. Whether undertaken for control, learning, decision-making, or any other purpose, the study can still be called an evaluation.

Third, the definition does not specify what the object is. An evaluation can assess a project, a programme, an organisation, a policy, or even an object in the grammatical sense (such as an information toolbox, a panel discussion, or a website).

Fourth, the definition does not specify what constitutes worth or merit. This could be goal achievement, efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, beauty, durability, survival capacity, or any other quality, or combination of qualities.

Fifth, the definition does not say anything about how the evaluation is disseminated; whether it should be formally presented, open to the public, or even if it has to be presented in writing. Presumably, an evaluation process could end in a seminar, and it does not necessarily have to lead to a written final report.

Consequently praxis varies, and different organisations choose to specify more precisely what evaluation is in their context. It is, for example, common to specify that evaluations have to be undertaken by independent experts. The definition above is firm in two respects in particular; first that evaluation has to be an assessment of worth or merit. This distinguishes evaluation from research (pure and applied), which does not necessarily have to arrive at a value assessment. Second, evaluation has to be a systematic process of inquiry; meaning that it has to build on the methods of social science research. The assessment must build on a systematic collection and analysis of data.