Self-Evaluation
Self-evaluation challenges several assumptions of traditional approaches to evaluation, such as the adversarial relationship between evaluators and those involved in programs being evaluated. It also grows out of the need for accountability in a governmental system that increasingly emphasizes local control and autonomy, a context not well-suited to the experimental paradigm that has prevailed in evaluation research.
The philosophical underpinnings of self-evaluation are discussed in the following article:
Usher, C.L. (1995). Improving evaluability through self-evaluation. Evaluation Practice (now the American Journal of Evaluation), 16 (1), 59-68.
The following paper (available in Acrobatâ format) describes the changing context of evaluation research and its implications for the practice of evaluation (a revised version was published in the journal of the American Humane Association, Protecting Children, 15 [1999],. 4-9.):
Usher, C.L. (1995). From social experiments to reform initiatives: Implications for designing and conducting evaluations. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 3.
Closely related to self-evaluation are other collaborative and participatory evaluation strategies. For further information, see the Web site maintained by the Collaborative, Participatory and Empowerment Evaluation topical interest group of the American Evaluation Association.