Evaluating socio-economic programmes. Volume 6, Glossary of 300 concepts and technical terms

custom-survey-notification

Publication Detail Portlet

Publication detail

Home

Valoración del usuario

Publicaciones de la UE

Descargar

Metadatos de publicación

This six-volume set gives wider public access to the lessons of the MEANS programme which the European Commission introduced with a view to improving and promoting evaluation methods. Its publication meets a growing need for reliable benchmarks to deal with the problems of evaluation encountered when implementing public measures in general and Structural Fund operations in particular. In this context, the set constitutes a unique methodological guide that can solve the technical and organisational problems arising in the course of evaluation work and for which the existing literature provides little help. The collection is aimed not only at professional evaluators, for whom it will provide a valuable handbook, but also at non-specialists, in particular managing authorities and structural programme Monitoring Committees. Each volume is des gned to be independent of the others, yet they are also complementary. Together, they deal with all aspects of the evaluation of socioeconomic programmes: I. Evaluation design and management II. Selection and use of indicators for monitoring and evaluation III. Principal evaluation techniques and tools IV. Technical solutions for evaluation within a partnership framework V. Transversal evaluation of impacts on the environment, employment and other intervention priorities VI. Glossary of 300 concepts and technical terms. The first Volume in the MEANS Collection entitled "Evaluation design and management" serves as an introduction both to the Collection and to the evaluation of socio-economic programmes. It enables readers to understand the implications of evaluation and to know what they can and cannot expect from an evaluation at a given time in a particular context. It covers all the elements needed to steer an evaluation project from A to Z: sharing of responsibilities, defining of the aims and method of an evaluation, establishing a schedule and budget, assessing the quality of the work performed and, finally, managing the use of conclusions. The second Volume focuses on the "Selection and use of indicators for monitoring and evaluation". It deals with the subject of indicators used for monitoring and evaluation. It shows how indicators can be used to support policy decisions, improve management and measure the overall performance of programmes. The volume proposes a methodological framework and a practical guide for the use of indicators in these different situations. The third Volume presents a selection of "Principal evaluation techniques and tools" applicable to the evaluation of socio-economic programmes. These tools are taken from relevant scientific disciplines: economics, sociology, management, geography, etc. Each one of the 23 tools is described in the form of an information sheet featuring a general description, the principles of its implementation, a list of its strengths and weaknesses for the evaluation of Structural Funds, an example of its application and a list of references. A number of methods adapted to the evaluation of socioeconomic programmes are the object of a more detailed description in the fourth Volume entitled "Technical solutions for evaluation within a partnership framework". Several pilot evaluations were implemented within the MEANS programme to design and test the following four innovations, the application of which is described in detail in this Volume: impact mapping, cross-impact matrix, score cards and multi-criteria analysis. The fifth Volume deals with "Transversal evaluation of impacts on the environment, employment and other intervention priorities" of the European Union and Member States. Among the questions addressed are impacts in terms of equal opportunities between men and women and the competitiveness of SMEs. The Volume provides the elements required for an analysis of those impacts which are not necessarily part of the explicit objectives of all the actions evaluated. Finally, the last Volume is a "Glossary of concepts and technical terms". The compilation of the Collection has necessitated the rigorous standardisation and definition of the terms used. Each of the first five volumes has an index of terms which, along with hundreds of definitions, are brought together in the glossary.

Ver menos