Developing a Systemic Program Evaluation Methodology: A Critical Systems Perspective

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increased interest within the program evaluation field for introducing systems thinking concepts in it. However, most of these attempts have been primarily directed towards supporting the practice of evaluation and not towards making theoretical advancements. This article is focused on introducing systems thinking concepts at a theoretical level, particularly those related to boundary critique in the program evaluation field by reframing the Fourth Generation evaluation methodology. I will introduce the general ideas for carrying out such reframing as well as describing the major changes produced in the methodology and how the introduction of these concepts may be beneficial for conducting an evaluative process.