Democratic evaluation for the 21st century

Abstract

The evaluation discipline has long been put at the service of liberal democratic values. But contemporary evaluation practice is threatened by vested interests, western democracy is under stress and internationalization has propelled evaluation towards illiberal and patrimonial states. What is to be done in contexts where democracy is absent and/or evaluation has been captured by powerful interests whether globally, within countries or within organizations? Are existing democratic evaluation approaches still relevant? Is it time to try something new? This article reviews the evidence and recommends adoption of a progressive evaluation model designed to complement, update and renew existing democratic and social justice evaluation approaches.