Reimagening Learning & Evaluation

The unfulfilled potential of evaluation

Evaluation has been weakening in its ability to provide useful, representative, and credible evidence capable of influencing decisions and strategy adaptation at the highest levels of organisational decision-making.

Of course, none of the above is new. Back in 2019, at the philanthropy sector Evaluation Roundtable, the prominent evaluator Thomas Schwandt advocated for “rethinking the moral compass for evaluation.” More recently, the International Evaluation Academy (IEA) and its partners ran a survey based on a three-horizons approach, finding that “Evaluation is not effective in addressing the deepening polycrises and the transformations required for a just and regenerative planet.” Moreover, global trends like fake news and post-truth politics have added to the relevance and credibility crises in evaluation, thereby threatening the legitimacy of evaluation as a field of inquiry.

Perhaps at the core of the crises we face is the fallacy or assumption that evidence is the main driver of decision-making and behavioural change. Anyone who has worked directly with boards and executives will know that implicit knowledge and “gut feel” often drive strategies and innovations – usually mildly informed by landscape data.

Reimagining our Practice

We are not advocating for new technical and methodological solutions or other small improvements, including (usually weakly implemented) forms of participatory or trust-based practice. We call for a drastic and radical evolution and reimagination of evaluation and the role of evaluators. Without significant transformation, evaluation will fail to be of use in the expanding polycrisis we will continue to face. 

Transformative change requires shifting evaluation’s positionality, power, and purpose towards:

• Relational ontology and a practice with more heart and soul.

• Enabling upwards accountability and power shifting.

• A practice anchored in trauma-sensitive and culturally responsive approaches

We could measure the success of evaluations not only by their technical quality but also by how much they influence decision-makers and contribute to their mission.

Join us!

Our experience tells us that the above issues need further collective sense-making, possibility and solution-seeking.  Hence, anyone interested in these or related issues is invited to join our upcoming online discussions.

The discussions will be hosted by Yulye Jessica Romo Ramos (Director, Nexus Evaluation) in collaboration with Thomas Kelly and Penny Hawkins, plus guest speakers.

Here is a list of upcoming online discussions you can join.