Irish Evaluation Network Presentation The State of the Art of Evaluation in Ireland Dr. Richard Boyle Senior Research Officer Institute of Public Administration 24 th September 2002

Overview of presentation The historical context The demand for evaluation The supply of evaluation A role for an evaluation network?

Evaluation – a definition The practice of evaluation involves the systematic collection of quantitative and/or qualitiative information about the design, implementation and effectiveness of a range of social interventions for use by specific people to make decisions concerning the operation of the intervention under scrutiny and/or further long-term understanding of a particular issue

Historical context 1960s - rational analysis 1970s - evaluation of individual projects 1980s - focus on control of public expenditure - EU influence 1990s - public service modernisation - value for money - expenditure reviews 2000s - a two-tier system???

A demand and supply framework Evaluation Demand High evaluation capacity, high use Limited evaluation capacity, high use of studies produced High evaluation capacity, limited use Little evaluation capacity, little use of evaluation studies StrongWeak Evaluation Supply Strong Weak

Demand for evaluation Political level –High demand based on rhetoric, low demand based on practice –A changing climate? European Commission –High demand –Influence declining? Government departments and agencies –Varied levels of demand

Supply of evaluations Who is doing evaluation: –Programme managers –Evaluation units –Consultants –Academics We have a lot of amateurs, some craftsmen and very few professionals

Supply of evaluations A lot of evaluators come from applied social sciences background, particularly psychology and economics Little education and training specifically in evaluation Little national discourse/evaluation meetings

A role for an evaluation network? Positive response to the questionnaire A forum for exchange of ideas on theory and practice of evaluation between traditions and disciplines To promote technical and methodological progress To encourage high standards and ethics regarding the practice of evaluation To support continuous development for evaluators and evaluation comissioners To provide practical supports e.g. register, website

Some issues Resourcing? –Financial –Administrative Country wide? North/South links? European links? Where to next?