Evaluating the complex : attribution, contribution, and beyond / Kim Forss, Mita Marra, and Robert Schwartz, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Forss, Kim.

Marra, Mita.

Schwartz, Robert, 1959-

Series:

Comparative policy evaluation series ; v. 18.

Comparative policy evaluation series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social problems--Case studies.

Evaluation research (Social action programs).

Social problems.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xi, 349 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick : Transaction Publishers, [2011]

Summary:

Evaluation 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 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.

Mind the Gap has a twofold aim. The first is to highlight and characterize the gap between evaluation practices and debates, and the substantive knowledge debates within the social and behavioral sciences. The second is to show why this gap is problematic for the practice of evaluation, while at the same time illustrating possible ways to build bridges.

Knowledge grows as ideas are tested against each other. Agreement is reached in the dialectical process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. These debates are echoed in The Evidence Book. The contributors are concerned with collecting and analyzing evidence and using this to deliver evaluations. The concept of evidence has been increasingly important in the last decade, but it too often escapes precise definition. This book is a treatise on evidence-based policy. It is a wide-ranging contribution to the field of evaluation. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction / Kim Forss Forss, Kim, Robert Schwartz Schwartz, Robert 1

2 Implications of Complicated and Complex Characteristics for Key Tasks in Evaluation / Patricia J. Rogers Rogers, Patricia J. 33

3 Contribution Analysis: Addressing Cause and Effect / John Mayne Mayne, John 53

4 Micro, Meso, and Macro Dimensions of Change: A New Agenda for the Evalutation of Structural Policies / Mita Marra Marra, Mita 97

5 Coping with the Evaluability Barrier: Poverty Impact of European Support at Country Level / Jacques Toulemonde Toulemonde, Jacques, Douglas Carpenter Carpenter, Douglas, Laurent Raffier Raffier, Laurent 123

6 Monitoring and Evaluation of a Multi-Agency Response to Homelessness: An Australian Case Study / Peter Wilkins Wilkins, Peter 145

7 Evaluating a Complex Policy in a Complex Context: The Elusive Success of the Swiss Smoking Prevention Policy / Markus Spinatsch Spinatsch, Markus 169

8 Intervention Path Contribution Analysis (IPCA) for Complex Strategy Evaluation: Evaluating the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy / Robert Schwartz Schwartz, Robert, John Garcia Garcia, John 187

9 Responding to a Global Emergency and Evaluating That Response-The Case of HIV/AIDS / Kim Forss Forss, Kim 209

10 Evaluating Complex Strategic Development Interventions: The Challenge of Child Labor / Burt Perrin Perrin, Burt, Peter Wichmand Wichmand, Peter 243

11 Challenges in Impact Evaluation of Development Interventions: Randomized Experiments and Complexity / Jos Vaessen Vaessen, Jos 283

12 Some Insights from Complexity Science for the Evaluation of Complex Policies / Mita Marra Marra, Mita 315.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9781412818469

141281846X

OCLC:

666402922