Transformative spaces for evaluation in programs, policies and organisations
| Published date | 01 December 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X231204680 |
| Author | John Guenther |
| Date | 01 December 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
Evaluation Journal of Australasia
2023, Vol. 23(4) 173–175
© The Author(s) 2023
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DOI: 10.1177/1035719X231204680
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Transformative spaces for
evaluation in programs,
policies and organisations
John Guenther
The final issue of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia for 2023 brings together a
collection of articles that speak to the transformative role of evaluation and evaluators.
My mind goes back to Donna Mertens who comments: ‘Evaluators have a role to play
in bringing their data into communities in ways that facilitate its use for social
transformation’(Mertens, 2010, p. 9). While it might be true to say ‘evaluation can’t
change the world’, many of us have built our work as evaluators on the premise that we
can make a difference. Indeed, there are plenty of examples within the Journal where
articles show that change was both the intention and outcome of an evaluation (e.g.,
Harrison, 2023;Rijswijk et al., 2015). Change is front of mind for many of our a uthors
in this issue, whether that be organisational change, system change, change in the way
evaluations are commissioned or advocacy for social change more generally. Mertens
also speaks of a transformative lens in evaluation (Mertens, 2023), suggesting a role for
evaluation in education, mental health, environmental policy, criminal justice systems,
refugees, economic development, gender-based violence and agriculture. While
evaluation certainly does not necessarily result in change, this issue of the Evaluation
Journal of Australasia points to several possibilities.
Alison Rogers and Amy Gullickson offer insights into how individuals can en-
courage embedded evaluation within their non-profit organisations. Their study shed
light on strategies used by evaluation advocates to overcome resistance within or-
ganisations. Those of us who have worked with non-profit organisations would have
experienced many of the challenges reported in this article. However, this research
reports on what people within an organisation do to build an evaluation culture. They
comment that for some, ‘their prodding, suggesting, cajoling, promoting, prompting,
and encouraging were what kept things rolling’(p. 186). Notably, it seems that people
with more influence can use other levers to embed a culture of evaluative inquiry. These
include an accountability strategy, and an intentional process of supporting capacity
building, encouraging evaluative thinking and cooperative teamwork. The authors
conclude with a series of theoretical propositions that could be tested further within the
frame of social interdependence theory. However, as I read the findings it seems to me
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