Program Evaluation Development in the Newly Independent States

Abstract

This paper provides a general overview of the development of program evaluation in CIS countries. We start by telling a story that describes how evaluation appeared in the scene, how it developed and who the key players were in its development. We discuss the issue of demand for and supply of evaluation services. In the conclusion, we describe our view of the stages in the emergence of evaluation in the CIS and the perspective of each. The four stages we identify are: “An External Phenomenon” (1991–1995), “Initiation” (1996–2000), “Assimilation” (2000–2004), and “Implementation” (2005 to the present).

“Do it yourself:” How NGOs Evaluate Projects Using Their Own Resources

“…Without going too much into historical detail, we should note that in Russia everything started with external evaluation, which was "imported" to us in the early 1990s along with the international assistance programs by numerous foreign organizations (Kuzmin et al, 2007). Gradually, local evaluators started appearing as well.…”

“…Не вдаваясь в исторические детали, отметим, что, в России всё началось с внешней оценки, которую «импортировали» к нам в начале 90-х вместе с программами международной помощи многочисленные зарубежные организации (Kuzmin et al, 2007). Постепенно оценку стали осваивать и российские специалисты.…”

“…We had a series of discussions on this issue as part of the 2022 PROOCENKU Club meetings 5 . They were attended by more than 40 people, mostly coming from non-profit organizations from many regions of Russia.…”