Evaluation truisms

GOOD EVALUATION IS REASON LIBERATED BY PASSION

YOU CAN NOT AFFORD THE QUALITY OF DATA YOU DESIRE

AN EVALUATOR WHO TELLS YOU THEY HAVE AN INNOVATIVE IDEA IS A SALESPERSON

STOP WORRYING ABOUT REALITY

IF YOU CAN’T EXPLAIN YOUR WORK SIMPLY, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND IT

EVALUATION IS MORE POLITICAL THAN POLITICS

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE REALLY VALUE, SEE WHERE THE MONEY GOES

YOU WILL NEVER FULLY UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIENCES OF BENEFICIARIES

YOU CAN DO AN EVALUATION WITHOUT USING EVALUATION LANGUAGE

PEOPLE DON’T READ THE FULL REPORT, BUT YOU NEED TO WRITE THE FULL REPORT BEFORE YOU CAN WRITE THE SUMMARY

EVALUATION IS EASIER THAN YOU EXPECT AND HARDER THAN YOU THOUGHT

THERE IS LITTLE TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY IN EVALUATION

EVALUATION DECISIONS GET MADE BY THOSE WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND EVALUATION

SEEING PEOPLE REALISE THEY CAN DO EVALUATION IS A JOY

TRAINING IS THE LEAST EFFECTIVE WAY TO LEARN EVALUATION

AT SOME POINT, THE MONEY WILL COME FIRST

CONFERENCES ARE NOT THE SPACE FOR IDEAS BUT ARE A GOOD PLACE TO GET DRUNK WITH FUN PEOPLE

EVALUATION IS A FORM OF ART

EVALUATION IS CONTROLLED BY WHITE PEOPLE

NON-PARTICIPATION IS A FORM OF RESISTANCE

LISTEN TO WHAT A PERSON SAYS AND WATCH THEIR ACTIONS

CHILDREN ARE THE BEST EVALUATION PARTICIPANTS

LISTENING TO PEOPLE IS THE BEST PART OF EVALUATION

EVALUATION HAS A POSITIVE BIAS PROBLEM

NEARLY EVERYONE HAS A STORY TO TELL

90 PER CENT OF EVALUATION IS DEALING WITH EMOTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS

WHEN THE EVALUATOR AND THE PROGRAM STAFF ALIGN, EVALUATION IS SUBLIME

SOME PARTS OF EVALUATION CAN NOT BE TAUGHT

LEARN THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

YOU CAN USE EVALUATION TO TRANSFORM PEOPLE’S LIVES

PEOPLE CAN USE EVALUATION TO TRANSFORM THEIR OWN LIVES

YOU CAN TELL A PROGRAM IS GOOD BY HOW MANY PEOPLE AGREE TO AN INTERVIEW

I CAN SHOW YOU DATA TO PROVE ANY POINT YOU DESIRE

PEOPLE WHO CLAIM OBJECTIVITY ARE USUALLY THE BIGGEST DRAMA QUEENS

YOUR EVALUATION REPORT TELLS PROGRAM STAFF NOTHING NEW

SYSTEMS EVALUATION IS INEFFECTIVE BECAUSE IT CAN NOT SYNTHESISE AT SCALE

YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THE COURAGE TO TELL YOUR PAYING CLIENT EVERYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE DATA TELLS YOU

THE FOREST IS A GOOD PLACE TO DISCUSS IDEAS

THE WORD COMPLEXITY IS OVERUSED

WHEN PEOPLE SAY THEY WANT TO DISRUPT, THEY MEAN DISRUPTION TO OTHERS

NOT ALL KNOWLEDGE NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN DOWN

EVALUATION IS A PLAYGROUND FOR THE MIDDLE-CLASS

YOUR EVALUATION REPORT WILL BE JUDGED ON THE QUALITY OF THE GRAPHIC DESIGN

(Inspired by Truisms - created by the artist Jenny Holzer)