Reflections on learning about Australasian evaluation theory and practice1
| Author | Patricia J Rogers |
| Date | 01 December 2002 |
| Published date | 01 December 2002 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X0200200208 |
| Subject Matter | Reflections |
30 Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 2 (new series), No. 2, December 2002
Reflections on learning
about Australasian
evaluation theory and
practice1
Patricia J Rogers
Dr Patricia Rogers is with the
Collaborative Institute for
Research, Consulting and
Learning in Evaluation
(CIRCLE) at RMIT University,
Melbourne, Victoria.
Based on the reflections of the panel, my experience of the conference, and my current
understanding of contemporary evaluation practice, I have been asked to provide a general
commentary on developments in the field, and some recommendations for future learning.
This has been a wonderful brief – to lurk and loiter, to listen and learn, and to bring much
of what I have experienced back to this whole group. I would like to thank everyone who
has given me permission to quote them.
In this paper I want to present some images which may help to sustain our learning,
our practice, our theory, and our quest to make a difference through evaluation. In the end,
the choice was pretty easy – the film The Fellowship of the Ring.
Few people realise that The Fellowship of the Ring is actually an evaluation training
film, cleverly disguised to encourage a wider audience. Galadriel, for example, is clearly an
evaluator. Her mirror shows what is, what has been, and some things that have not yet
come to pass. She offers to hold this mirror up for others to look into, knowing that the
truth will sometimes be painful. Much of the film involves discussions about wielding
power – its attractiveness, its potential to corrupt the well intentioned, and the merits and
risks of choosing to give it away. Similar discussions occur in evaluation – for example, the
paper by English et al. (2002) at this conference, and the theme of next year’s AES
conference in Auckland.
The film provides us with images that are international, interdisciplinary and
inspirational.
Galadriel’s mirror
International
The film itself is the result of international collaboration – an English writer (born in South
Africa), an American producer, a New Zealand director, and an international cast
including Europeans and Australians.
In the same way, at this conference we have been able to combine and engage with
ideas and examples from around the world, not with a cultural cringe, not with the
arrogant dismissal of Not Invented Here, but thoughtfully considering their local
applicability. I have appreciated the way in which our two keynote speakers have
introduced examples from the American and British contexts, and how the Presidential
Address discussed issues arising at the European conference.
reflections
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