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What is evaluation?

Evaluation: Thinking Beyond Measurement


Evaluation is more than measurement.

Good evaluation provides clear answers to important questions, so that action can be taken. Evaluation answers questions about how good something is, and whether it is good enough (Davidson, 2013). Explicit evaluative reasoning gives us the means to provide valid, transparent answers to those questions.

The following diagram illustrates one form of evaluative reasoning in practice.

You’re welcome to also download our more detailed evaluation guide

There are many different ways to do evaluation and a range of guides. Our guide emphasises the place of evaluative reasoning in evaluation. It draws on the work of many evaluation theorists, as well as our practice-based body of knowledge.