Participatory Evaluation and the Evaluation of Social Programs : Lessons Learned from the Field

Issues associated with involvement of social program participants in program evaluation are analyzed. Although there seems to be a broad consensus of the need for participatory evaluation, the proposed rationales and concomitant benefits to evaluation practice appear to be quite diverse. Key issues include the rationale for "stakeholder" participation, definition of the "stakeholder," definition of meaningful participation, types of evaluation and evaluation settings most appropriate for participatory approaches, roles of the participatory evaluator, and costs of participatory evaluation. Each issue is analyzed, and prescriptive upshots of the analysis are outlined. Viewing the optimal scientific process as democratic, one realizes that participatory approaches to program evaluation can fill one important niche in the desired linkage between social science and social policy/program delivery. (TJH) *****:***************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Participatory Evaluation and the Evaluation of Social Programs: Lessons Learned from the Field "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY