The Case for Participatory Evaluation in an Era of Accountability

Abstract

Evaluation occurs within a specific context and is influenced by the economic, political, historical, and social forces that shape that context. The culture of evaluation is thus very much embedded in the culture of accountability that currently prevails in public sector institutions, policies, and program. As such, our understanding of the reception and use of participatory approaches to evaluation must include an understanding of the practices of new public management and of the concomitant call for accountability and performance measurement standards that currently prevail. In this article, the author discusses how accountability has been defined and understood in the context of government policies, programs, and services and provides a brief discussion of participatory and collaborative approaches to evaluation and the interrelationship between participatory evaluation and technical approaches to evaluation. The main part of the article is a critical look at key tensions between participatory and technocratic approaches to evaluation. The article concludes with a focus on the epistemological and cultural implications of the current culture of public accountability.

Chapitre 5. La (re-)professionnalisation du journalisme tunisien dans la période transitionnelle : le rôle des acteurs extranationaux

“…The commissioning of consultants is used as a relatively controlled and repeatable technique for "operationalizing accountability" (Aho 1985;Brenneis 2006: 44; see also Power 1996), but not only is it based on simplistic notions of objectivity, it has problematic consequences for evaluations. In common with Chouinard (2013) and Cracknell (2000), my analysis found inherent weaknesses in premising the legitimacy of evaluations on "a detached and neutral role for evaluators" (Chouinard 2013: 244). While evaluation consultants are professionals who are commissioned to provide truthful accounts of a project, there is a need to critically engage with the assumptions and limitations of the idea that consultant evaluators can provide absolute objectivity.…”

Evaluating outcomes from stakeholders’ perception: evidence from an irrigation project in Nigeria

“…PME entails an 'involvement of multiple stakeholders in the design and implementation of observing, systematising and interpreting processes as a basis for joint decisions about improving their joint activities' (Bayer & Waters-Bayer, 2002:5). Participation is certainly the key distinguishing characteristic of PME, and this clearly differentiates it from conventional approaches to M&E (Chouinard;Cullen et al, 2011;Estrella, 2000;Estrella & Gaventa, 1998;Holte-McKenzie et al, 2006;Jacobs et al, 2010)…”

Intersecciones entre evaluación participativa y pedagogía social

“…Si bien la evaluación de programas, como instrumento imparcial y neutral que proporciona información objetiva basada en pruebas para satisfacer los requisitos primarios de rendición de cuentas, se considera metodológicamente creíble, dentro de la mayoría de los contextos de sectores públicos nacionales y federales, los enfoques participativos sensibles a necesidades comunitarias no están considerados de esa manera (Chouinard, 2013). La tensión está entre las evaluaciones que favorecen enfoques tecnocráticos e instrumentales y aquellas con un enfoque más humano, que incorporan conocimiento comunitario local.…”

“…While program evaluation as an impartial, neutral instrument providing objective and evidence-based information to satisfy what are primarily accountability requirements is considered methodologically credible within most national and federal public sector contexts, participatory approaches that are sensitive and responsive to community-based needs, are not (Chouinard, 2013). The tension is between evaluations that favour technocratic and instrumental approaches and those that are more human-centred and incorporate local community knowledge.…”