Involving program stakeholders in reviews of evaluators' recommendations for program revisions

Area of Science:

• Educational Program Evaluation
• Participatory Evaluation

Background:

• Stakeholder involvement in program evaluation is crucial for practical relevance.
• Existing literature often overlooks the specific role of stakeholder expertise in reviewing recommendations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the rationale for using stakeholder expertise in reviewing evaluation recommendations.
• To identify procedures for involving stakeholders in this review process.
• To assess the likely success of these procedures in educational program evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Discussion of theoretical and practical issues of stakeholder participation.
• Explanation of tapping stakeholder expertise for reviewing recommendations.
• Description of a case study where stakeholders reviewed evaluators' recommendations.

Main Results:

• Stakeholder expertise provides a sound rationale for involving staff and beneficiaries in reviewing recommendations.
• Specific procedures can be developed to facilitate this collaborative review process.
• The success of these procedures is linked to the degree of genuine participation and utilization of expertise.

Conclusions:

• Integrating stakeholder expertise into the review of evaluation recommendations strengthens program revisions.
• This approach supports both stakeholder-based and practical participatory evaluation models.
• Effective procedures are key to realizing the benefits of stakeholder involvement in program improvement.