The Oral History of Evaluation

Abstract

In the vast evaluation literature, there are numerous accounts describing the emergence of the field of evaluation. However, texts on evaluation history often describe how structural conditions for conducting evaluation have changed over time, often from an American perspective. Inspired by the Oral History Team, the purpose of this article is to provide an oral history description of the professional development of a person who has contributed to the emergence of evaluation in Sweden. The article concerns Evert Vedung, undoubtedly Sweden’s most well-known evaluation researcher. Vedung is intellectually distinct from many other prominent evaluation researchers, given his background in political science. He believes that evaluation is closely connected to representative democracy, which affects his view on what value criteria are to be used in evaluation. This article presents an edited conversation with Evert Vedung on his research trajectory. The article aims to describe how serendipities have shaped Vedung’s professional development.