José M. Díaz-Puente

Building Evaluation Capacity in Spain A Case Study of Rural Development and Empowerment in the European Union

The development of European Community administrative authority has greatly influenced the development of an evaluation culture among the southern and central member states of the European Union. The present case study from Spain provides an example of this diffusion through the use of an empowerment evaluation approach to build evaluation capacity within the context of rural development. The study focuses on the evaluation process over a 10-year period of three local development programs run by three local partnerships created in the rural areas of the Madrid region through the European LEADER initiative. Critical components of empowerment evaluation are discussed, as well as the impact, limitations, difficulties, and applicability of the approach to rural development in the European Union. Conclusions are presented concerning evaluation capacity building and the development of an evaluation culture.

Crossing National, Continental, and Linguistic Boundaries: Toward a Worldwide Evaluation Research Community in Journals of Evaluation

In an attempt to build a worldwide evaluation community, English evaluation journals are best positioned to promote international dialogue and increasingly provide international exchanges that deepen and enrich the evaluation field. This article analyzes the degree of internationalization achieved by these journals by looking at the extent of international authorship of the contributions they publish. Results show that—in spite of the efforts made—national, continental, and linguistic boundaries are still hindering the international exchange in the journals. Discussion is presented concerning the implications of these results and the efforts required to take greater advantage of the English journals to bridge national and regional traditions in the evaluation field.

The Effect That Project Management Certification Has on Employability: Agents' Perceptions from Spain

This study analyses the effects that the project management certification has on employability. This analysis started with a participative process in which various groups of experts who are involved in the certification of people were consulted. A personal interview was carried out amongst 106 professionals —certifying bodies, training institutions, the civil service, and international organisations— and amongst professional who are certified in project management by the International Project Management Association in Spain. The results show that the certification emerges as a powerful tool for improving employability. The effects are demonstrated across two complementary aspects: internal company aspects and external aspects relating to the labour market. Finally, by compiling the different agents’ opinions, a series of measures emerge for improving the accreditation processes as an employability tool and increasing the mutual learning between public and private actors.

Socioeconomic impact assessment in ex ante evaluations: a case study on the rural development programs of the European Union.

Background: Ex ante impact assessment has become a fundamental tool for effective program management, and thus, a compulsory task when establishing a new program in the European Union (EU). Objective: This article aims to analyze benefits from ex ante impact assessment, methodologies followed, and difficulties encountered. This is done through the case study on the rural development programs (RDPs) in the EU. Results regarding methodologies are then contrasted with the international context in order to provide solid insights to evaluators and program managing authorities facing ex ante impact assessment. Research design: All European RDPs from the period 2007 through 2013 (a total of 88) and their corresponding available ex ante evaluations (a total of 70) were analyzed focusing on the socioeconomic impact assessment. Results: Only 46.6% of the regions provide quantified impact estimations on socioeconomic impacts in spite of it being a compulsory task demanded by the European Commission (EC). Recommended methods by the EC are mostly used, but there is a lack of mixed method approaches since qualitative methods are used in substitution of quantitative ones. Two main difficulties argued were the complexity of program impacts and the lack of needed program information. Conclusions: Qualitative approaches on their own have been found as not suitable for ex ante impact assessment, while quantitative approaches—such as microsimulation models—provide a good approximation to actual impacts. However, time and budgetary constraints make that quantitative and mixed methods should be mainly applied on the most relevant impacts for the program success.

Social Involvement in Rural Areas. A Methodological Approach

Community development must be accompanied by a social involvement process which creates functional groups of citizens capable of taking responsibility for their own development. It is important that this process promotes a structure for all population groups and provides the appropriate institutional and technical support. The present paper addresses these issues from a methodological approach based on over 25 years of experience by the Institute of Community Development of Cuenca in revitalizing rural areas of the Spanish province of Cuenca. The long-term perspective of this experience provides some keys which can be used to successfully support the process of social involvement in rural areas.