• Describe why the selection of an evaluation approach matters in the public sector.
• Identify different paradigms of development and the roles of evaluation in each paradigm.
• Describe and critique the assumptions within an evaluation approach.
• Describe current approaches to decolonizing evaluation.

The course consists of three modules:

Module 1: The selection of an evaluation approach matters in the public sector

This module will use a case study to illustrate that public resources are allocated differently depending on how performance/impact is measured.

Module 2: The roles of evaluation in different development paradigms

This module will introduce learners to development paradigms (including independence/socialist experiments; neo-liberalism/structural adjustment; and Sustainable Development Goals. It will then examine the roles of evaluation within each of the identified paradigms, and identify assumptions embedded in these evaluation approaches.

Module 3: Points of intervention

This module is structured around a question: “Which interventions could challenge dominant (colonial) approaches to evaluation?” The module will include short inputs on possible points of intervention suggested by literature and by practitioners. Learners will then be invited to contribute to the development of a strategy for decolonizing evaluation.

New course