Slovenian Evaluation Society Working Papers no. XVII/1(Dec 2024), 41 pp.
Abstract: The problems of ensuring neutrality in participatory evaluation of complex interventions are explored. Four tools applying participatory processes are assessed – Most Significant Change, Causal Mapping, SenseMaker, and Outcome Harvesting – for their neutrality assessed as their contributions to social inclusion and collective rationality. The former relies on effectively managing bias in participatory processes, while the latter depends on the capacity to aggregate participants’ inputs at the collective level. This paper finds that the tools try to suppress or bypass bias rather than engage with it productively. Furthermore, they either refuse the synthesis of findings or overgeneralise. A new approach to participatory evaluation is proposed. It is framed within ‘the empty middle,’ where all identified biases converge. It is inclusive because it evaluates indeterminate (complex) issues as blindsighted (the opposite of enlightened). It is collectively rational because its meta-level aggregation better represents collective concerns in complex conditions than macro-level aggregation.
Keywords: Participatory evaluation, Social inclusion, Aggregation problem, Empty middle, Blindsight
Oznake: en