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Evaluators in a world of valuators
Author(s) -
Grob George F.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
new directions for evaluation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.374
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1534-875X
pISSN - 1097-6736
DOI - 10.1002/ev.20010
Subject(s) - reputation , argument (complex analysis) , valuation (finance) , audience measurement , public relations , public policy , independence (probability theory) , professional association , monopoly , political science , economics , law , microeconomics , biochemistry , chemistry , statistics , mathematics , finance
The author argues that in public policy making, evaluators have no monopoly on valuation, and that public policy decisions in the United States are almost never made by a single person, organizational entity, or profession. The argument is that what distinguishes evaluators from other valuators is a desire to evaluate public programs, hoping that they can find out what works and what doesn't, and then persuade policy makers, program managers, and professional advocates, and a broad citizen readership, to make rational and efficacious decisions. It is evaluators' broad command of valuation theories and practical methods, their independence, and their professional demeanor that makes them so valuable. The author concludes that the best way to preserve professional reputation is to be independent, relevant, helpful, and respectful. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association.