UK Evaluation Society/European Evaluation Society
Joint International Conference

Evaluation in Society:
Critical Connections

4-6 October 2006
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK

Preceded by a Programme of Training and
Professional Development Workshops

2-3 October 2006
Royal Institute of British Architects, London, UK
4 October 2006
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK

The UK Evaluation Society and the European Evaluation Society are collaborating for the first time on the organisation of a major international conference to be held in London on 4-6 October 2006.

The conference will be preceded by a programme of Training and Professional Development Workshops to be held in London on 2-4 October 2006.

The conference invites evaluators, commissioners of evaluation and users to reconsider the role of evaluation in democracy, what it contributes to social and public policy and how it reflects and shapes cultures and institutions. The conference is expected to be the largest evaluation conference ever held in Europe and has already attracted widespread interest from around the world.

Over the past four decades evaluation has expanded and diversified in many contexts and with distinct objectives: policy development, project/programme evaluation, accountability, self-governance of institutions, the learning society, impact/outcome assessment, audit, management, professional development and so on. It is timely to re-examine how evaluation can enhance the social/political process and to identify the connections that may need to be forged between various evaluation approaches, methodologies and practices.

Evaluation never takes place in a social vacuum. It is part of the decision-making processes of society. The conference aims at learning from one another - governments, organizations and individuals - how evaluation is conducted and how it is used to inform policy development and deliberation in different cultures.

The theme of “critical connections” is proposed as a key to how different evaluation approaches and evaluation systems relate to institutions, sectors, professions, organizations, and policy areas in contemporary society. As societies change, and as evaluation evolves, priorities emerge and new connections become critical. Conversely, earlier connections may need revision. The conference programme is structured under the following six major streams which capture the wide range of relationships that will have to be nurtured to fulfil the potential of evaluation in democracy and development.

1.	The role of evaluation in public policy
2.	Evaluation and its relationship with the professions, policy sectors and disciplines
3.	Evaluation and the European project
4	International evaluation and evaluation in developing countries
5	Evaluating institutions, programmes and structures
6.	Evaluation futures
Underpinning all streams is a commitment to explore:
	the diversity of evaluation approaches in specific cultural contexts;
	how international and national organizations shape evaluations and impact on public policy and practice;
	how evaluation is influenced by communities, movements, organizations, political systems and the media in different contexts;
	how social, cultural, political and technological changes affect the role and functions of evaluation in society;
	how the commitment to contribute to informed public dialogue through evaluation is realised;
	the impact of systematic and overarching ways of organising evaluation on norms, values, decisions, practices and policies.

Conference Programme  

The full conference programme is now available through the Programme navigation link and can be viewed by days, parallel sessions or streams. Abstracts of each presentation will be available on the website nearer the date. A few examples of the many interesting and innovative presentations included in the programme are given below.

Please click on the images below to visit the websites of the European Evaluation Society and the UK Evaluation Society