Facilitating Transferable Learning through Cluster Evaluation

Abstract

This article outlines a strategy for the evaluation of a development partnership within the EU ‘EQUAL’ programme. A new aspect of the EQUAL programme is the grouping of projects within thematic or geographical partnerships. This facilitates the establishment of stronger links between learning at intra-project, inter-project and programme level, in a way that was not the case in previous EU employment programmes. It provides the opportunity to address the problem of external validity (also known as transferability or generalizability), which has long been an intractable aspect of evaluation. In particular, it has been difficult to generate inter-project and policy-level learning in innovative programmes of heterogeneous projects, because learning has been strongly context-bounded. The approach of cluster evaluation has offered a methodology for bridging the gap between case-based learning and policy-level learning. The approach is suitable for thematic programmes of innovative and heterogeneous interventions in field settings with multiple objectives and diverse participants. It favours communicative learning processes among programme participants, using interactive and dialogue-focused techniques. The article reviews these issues and outlines the strategy adopted in the evaluation of a development partnership within the EU EQUAL programme in Germany.