Empowerment Evaluation

Abstract

Empowerment evaluation continues to crystallize central issues for evaluators and the field of evaluation. A highly attended American Evaluation Association conference panel, titled “Empowerment Evaluation and Traditional Evaluation: 10 Years Later,” provided an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of empowerment evaluation. Several of the presentations were expanded and published in the American Journal of Evaluation. In the spirit of dialogue, the authors respond to these and related comments. The authors structure their discussion in terms of empowerment evaluation's past, present, and future as follows: (a) Yesterday (critiques aimed at empowerment evaluation issues that arise from its early stages of development), (b) Today (current issues associated with empowerment evaluation theory and practice), and (c) Tomorrow (the future of empowerment evaluation in terms of recent critiques). This response is designed to enhance conceptual clarity, provide greater methodological specificity, and highlight empowerment evaluation's commitment to accountability and producing outcomes.