Позитивные изменения, Том 3 №1, 2023. Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 1 (2023) - Редакция журнала «Позитивные изменения»

Сейчас я работаю с новой академией международной оценки, и у нас есть участники из всех стран мира, я вхожу в российское общество оценщиков и оказываю содействие Международной организации по сотрудничеству и оценке. Международные и глобальные сети и группы оценщиков станут частью нашего будущего.

“If You Use Evaluation You Make Better Decisions and Help People More.” Interview with Michael Patton

Natalia Gladkikh

DOI 10.55140/2782–5817–2023–3–1–4–15

Michael Quinn Patton is one of the world’s most renowned experts in project and program evaluation[5]. He has been working in this field since the 1970s, when evaluation in the nonprofit sector was a relatively new phenomenon. Dr. Patton is the creator of well-known evaluation concepts that are used by specialists around the world. He received several international awards for outstanding contributions to the field, and he wrote 18 books on various issues related to practical use of evaluation[6]. In an interview with our Editor-in-Chief, Michael Patton shared his views on the profession of an evaluator[7], the impact of the profession, trends in evaluation, the “gold standard” of evaluation methodology, and what the future holds for this field.

Michael Patton

Natalia Gladkikh

PhD in Psychology, Leading Expert Institute of Social and Economic Design at the Higher School of Economics

What are the most significant changes in project and program evaluation over your long professional journey?

I’ve been in evaluation for over 50 years. The field has grown very diverse in this time period. Just as there are many programs, there are many types of evaluation. And the most difficult task is to coordinate them with each other.

Has the perception of the profession of project and program evaluator changed during this time?

I hope that this area has become more professional in the public perception, because there are now more than 100 national organizations, such as the Association of Specialists in Program and Policy Evaluation in Russia, the European Association of Evaluators, etc. They have established standards, training programs, publications. According to our data, there are now about 75,000 program evaluators worldwide. Of course, all these facts suggest that the field is getting more professional.

Have the requirements to evaluators changed over time? What are the requirements to professional evaluators today?

Most countries do not certify evaluators. Canada has a certification program through the Canadian Evaluation Society. There are a number of certification programs in New Zealand and Japan.

The American Evaluation Association has no formal certification program. It is up to those who hire evaluators to verify their qualifications and determine if the evaluator has the necessary skills.

If we take Canada as an example, does this country have a higher education program (such as a master’s degree), or is it a certification program run by a professional association? What is the process for obtaining a certificate?

The Canadian Evaluation Society organizes trainings. People attend the trainings, complete the curriculum, and present examples of past evaluation work. By acquiring certification from the Canadian Evaluation Society, they become certified evaluators.

There is no “gold standard” for evaluation. The main challenge is adaptability, appropriateness, also the program needs are the key.

In your opinion, when a customer decides whether a particular evaluator is the best person for their particular project, which option is better – certification or no certification?

I think having a certificate helps, because it allows customers, who may not be very proficient in evaluation, to understand they are dealing with someone who has been trained. But the field of evaluation in the United States and in Europe is so diverse that it has not been possible so far to achieve a common understanding of the basics of this profession. In Canada, we were able to agree on the basic concepts that an evaluator must be familiar with, that is why certification is possible there. It is unlikely to happen in the U. S. because the field is too diverse there.

Let’s talk about evaluation methodology. Have there been any changes in this area?

Of course. Artificial intelligence (AI), big data and its sources have emerged. The pandemic brought forth great changes: online services have enabled conducting interviews and focus groups remotely. Satellite imagery has been used in new ways.

For example, thanks to satellites, it is no longer necessary to go somewhere in the field to check whether new agricultural equipment is being used there. If we want to know how many children attend a school in a developing country, we can use satellite imagery again.

Remote data collection, AI, big data, the Internet, and new data visualization techniques allow for better communication. It has become easier to distribute evaluation results thanks to the development of the Internet and social media, to find people to interview, to follow a person on social networks. All of these technological advances are making their way into the field of evaluation.

So many changes and so many possibilities. Does every evaluator need to be familiar with all these new products? What are the most important qualities and requirements for a good evaluator, and can we talk about the “gold standard” of an evaluator?

The way I see it, we have defined the “gold standard” as the ability to evaluate a program in the proper way, which meets the needs of that specific program. Methodologically, there is no “gold standard.” In any case, I do not believe that randomized controlled trials are better than other methodologies, because the program needs are the key, and because such phenomena as the pandemic, climate change, global political instability, growing numbers of