| Summary: | Review of evaluation processes and recommendations for evaluative practice INTRODUCTION There are many kinds of evaluation and understandings of its benefits. At the global level evaluation has been described as a world saver, as an essential producer of knowledge for well being and for addressing issues such as Avian flu that “we can’t afford to get wrong” (Rist 2006). At the national level evaluation appears to be a response to the desire for “good Government” and programmes and policies are evaluated by agencies charged with improving outcomes for the population.(Lunt in Lunt, Davidson & McKegg 2003: 4.) Organisations evaluate their programmes or have their programmes audited. Individuals reflect on their personal practice and the organisations they work in. All these activities are evaluative though their approaches, purposes, and methods differ. (Duignan in Lunt, Davidson& McKegg 2003:79) A variety of a p p r o a c h e s , p u r p o s e s a n d me t h o d s f o u n d e d o n d i f f e r e n t worldviews, paradigms and interests is found in evaluation practice and evaluators are constantly challenged about their roles and methods. What follows here is not a review of evaluation in all its complexities but a conceptual and practical introduction to assist health promotion practitioners in Aotearoa/New Zealand, many of whom work in relatively small organisations close to their communities.
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