Evaluation has come of age. Today most social and political observers would have difficulty imagining a society where evaluation is not a fixture of daily life, from individual programs to local authorities to parliamentary committees. While university researchers, grant makers and public servants may think there are too many types of evaluation, rankings and reviews, evaluation is nonetheless viewed positively by the public. It is perceived as a tool for improvement and evaluators are seen as dedicated to using their knowledge for the benefit of society.

The book examines the degree to which evaluators seek power for their own interests. This perspective is based on a simple assumption: If you are in possession of an asset that can give you power, why not use it for your own interests? Can we really trust evaluation to be a force for the good? To what degree can we talk about self-interest in evaluation, and is this self-interest something that contradicts other interests such as "the benefit of society?" Such questions and others are addressed in this brilliant, innovative, international collection of pioneering contributions.

Today, evaluation is part of governing systems and is supported by powerful institutions. It is taken for granted that evaluation leads to betterment. However, evaluation itself is seldom analyzed from a critical perspective. In this book, Jan-Eric Furubo and Nicoletta Stame have assembled an international line-up of distinguished experts and emerging scholars to fill this void. Examining evaluation from a critical - or evaluative - perspective, each contribution in this book offers a systematic and critical insight into the broader relationship between evaluation and society. Divided into three parts, the various chapters ask questions such as: What are the consequences of the institutionalization of evaluation? Has the professionalization of evaluators favored their action in the public interest? Is the money spent on evaluation worth it? Is the market of evaluation allowing real competition for the best services? The answers to these questions demonstrate that the constitutive effects of the social practice of evaluation can also be the suppression of other forms of knowledge and the favoring of certain notions about societal development and political and administrative processes.

Now more than ever, policy evaluation is an important component in addressing the world's economic crisis. Before it can do so, the discipline must adapt to changing economic and political environments. The contributors address a basic question: What impact do crises have on evaluation and how can evaluation contribute in times of turbulence? Examining the state of evaluation today, the volume's editors cover a broad range of topics, including post-hoc evaluation; shifting economic paradigms; the World Bank Group's response to the global economic crisis; challenges in evaluating financial literacy; evaluating counter-terrorism programs; evaluation in the context of humanitarian crises; and why civil society organizations in sub-Saharan Africa matter in evaluating poverty interventions. The contributors explore the role of evaluation in the search for solutions to global instability. They recognize, however, that in order to address unprecedented crises, evaluation itself needs to be evaluated and updated as part of the process of change and reform. This volume is the latest in Transaction's well-respected Comparative Policy Evaluation series.

Evaluation has come of age. Today most social and political observers would have difficulty imagining a society where evaluation is not a fixture of daily life, from individual programs to local authorities to parliamentary committees. While university researchers, grant makers and public servants may think there are too many types of evaluation, rankings and reviews, evaluation is nonetheless viewed positively by the public. It is perceived as a tool for improvement and evaluators are seen as dedicated to using their knowledge for the benefit of society. The book examines the degree to which evaluators seek power for their own interests. This perspective is based on a simple assumption: If you are in possession of an asset that can give you power, why not use it for your own interests? Can we really trust evaluation to be a force for the good? To what degree can we talk about self-interest in evaluation, and is this self-interest something that contradicts other interests such as "the benefit of society?" Such questions and others are addressed in this brilliant, innovative, international collection of pioneering contributions.