Stunted by Stakeholders? Limits to Collaborative Evaluation
| Date | 01 April 1999 |
| Published date | 01 April 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207679901400207 |
| Author | Christopher Pollitt |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Stunted
by
Stakeholders?
Limits
to
Collaborative
Evaluation
Christopher
Pollitt
Erasmus
University
Rotterdam
Abstract
Over
the
last
five
to
ten
years
Europe
has
witnessed
a
return
to
fashion
for
evaluation.
As
an
activity
it
has
been
expanded
in
most
EU
states
and
very
considerably
within
the
EU
Commission.
Within
this
broad
trend
there
has
been
a
strong
sub-fashion
for
collaborative,
'pluralist'
and
'partenarial'
approaches
to
evaluation.
This
article
comments
on
the
nature
of
these
approaches,
notes
some
of
the
claims
made
on
their
behalf,
and
identifies
situations
in
which
collabo-
ration
is
likely to
decrease
both
the
scientific
rigour
and
the
usefulness
of
an
evaluation.
In
certain
circumstances,
the
'old-fashioned'
model
of
an
independent,
scientific,
form
of
evaluation
is
to
be
preferred
to
models
of
pluralism,
participation
and
empowerment.
Collaborate:
1
to
work
together
with
another
or
others
on
something.
2
(derog.)
to
co-
operate
with
or
help
an
enemy
occupying
one's
own
country.
(Harrap's
Chambers
Encyclopedic
English
Dictionary,
1994).
Introduction
That
there
has
been
something
of
a
European
boom
in
evaluation
over
the
last
ten
years
has
been
widely
recognised
(Pollitt,
1998).
Less
commented
upon,
perhaps,
has
been
the
fact
that,
within
this
wider
growth,
there
has
been
a
notably
strong
development
in
one
particular
set
of
evaluative
approaches
-
what
will
here
be
termed
'collaborative
evaluation'
(definitions
will
be
discussed
in
the
next
section).
Collaborative
approaches
could
not
be
said
to
be
'dominant',
but
they
are
certainly
fashionable.
These
approaches
advocate
as
a
central
principal
the
direct
involvement
of
stakeholders
in
the
design,
conduct
and
subsequent
use
of
evaluations
(for
a
classic
text,
see
Patton,
1997,
and
for
a
more
radical
exposition,
see
Guba
and
Lincoln,
1989).
This
contrasts
most
obviously
with
an
older
experimental
(or,
more
broadly,
'scientific')
approach
in
which
the
evaluation
is
envisaged
as
a
process
best
entrusted
to
experts
who,
enjoying
high
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
14
No.
2
Summer
1999
77
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