The Power of Commissioning
Enabling Democratic Evaluation
Will be published approx. on 4. September 2026
248 pages
E-Book
978-1-040-97065-2 (ISBN)
Description
Far more than a contractual step, commissioning shapes what is evaluated, whose voices matter, and how evidence informs democratic governance. The Power of Commissioning: Enabling Democratic Evaluation brings long overdue attention to this influential yet often overlooked dimension of evaluation practice.
Positioning commissioners as civic and political actors, the book shows how their choices, from problem framing and terms of reference to team selection, management, and use, can either reinforce technocratic routines or actively promote inclusion, transparency, equity, and meaningful public learning. Drawing on comparative empirical cases, it offers one of the first integrated frameworks for democratic commissioning, complete with practical principles, rubrics, and clear "dos and don'ts" that commissioners can apply directly in real systems. The volume also advances a pioneering competency model for commissioners and documents innovative capacity-building initiatives that treat them as knowledge brokers and democratic agents, an area largely absent from existing evaluation guidance.
Featuring contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, The Power of Commissioning provides both conceptual depth and actionable tools. It is an essential resource for researchers, policymakers, evaluators, and commissioning professionals committed to strengthening democratic practice through evaluation.
Positioning commissioners as civic and political actors, the book shows how their choices, from problem framing and terms of reference to team selection, management, and use, can either reinforce technocratic routines or actively promote inclusion, transparency, equity, and meaningful public learning. Drawing on comparative empirical cases, it offers one of the first integrated frameworks for democratic commissioning, complete with practical principles, rubrics, and clear "dos and don'ts" that commissioners can apply directly in real systems. The volume also advances a pioneering competency model for commissioners and documents innovative capacity-building initiatives that treat them as knowledge brokers and democratic agents, an area largely absent from existing evaluation guidance.
Featuring contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, The Power of Commissioning provides both conceptual depth and actionable tools. It is an essential resource for researchers, policymakers, evaluators, and commissioning professionals committed to strengthening democratic practice through evaluation.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
19 Tables, black and white; 1 Line drawings, color; 12 Line drawings, black and white; 1 Illustrations, color; 12 Illustrations, black and white
ISBN-13
978-1-040-97065-2 (9781040970652)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€191.50
Not yet published
Persons
Nicoletta Stame retired as Professor of Social Policy at "Sapienza" University of Rome. She is a past president of the Italian Evaluation Association and of the European Evaluation Society and associate editor of Evaluation. Nicoletta is interested in the theory and methods of evaluation, on which has published widely in Italian and international journals and edited books.
Maria Bustelo is a professor of political science and public administration at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), where she has directed the Master on evaluation since 2002. She is an EES past president (2012-2013) and an Executive Board member of the Spanish Evaluation National Agency (AEVAL) (2007-2012). She specializes in evaluation, gender, and institutionalization.
Maria Bustelo is a professor of political science and public administration at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), where she has directed the Master on evaluation since 2002. She is an EES past president (2012-2013) and an Executive Board member of the Spanish Evaluation National Agency (AEVAL) (2007-2012). She specializes in evaluation, gender, and institutionalization.
Content
Foreword Part I: Commissioning with Democratic Principles Matters 1. Commissioning Matters: Considerations and Challenges for Evaluation Commissioners Who Intend to Promote Democracy 2. How to Make Commissioning Matter in Times of Complex Fast-Changing Reality 3. How Evaluation Commissioning Processes Can Support or Undermine Democratic Processes 4. Commissioning with Clarity: Empowering Democratic Spaces by Drawing on the Principles of Deliberative Democracy 5. How Evaluation Commissioners and Evaluators Can Collaboratively Move Equitable Evaluation from a Set of External Actions to Internal Practices Part II: Experiences of Commissioning in Different Institutional Contexts 6. The Influence of Context for Different Types of Commissioners of Evaluation: Challenges and Opportunities 7. Democracy, SDGs, Evaluation and Commissioners - Connecting the Dots 8. Learning Agendas: From Studies to Streams of Evidence 9. Democratic Implications of Commissioning Market-Based Evaluations: Insights from Italy's Cohesion Policy 10. Evaluation Management Services at the MFA of Finland 11. The Art of Commissioning: Lessons from Commissioner-Evaluator Collaboration Part III: Educating the Commissioner Through a Dialogue Between Commissioners and Evaluators 12. The Good Commissioner: Competencies for Enhancing Democracy in Commissioning Processes 13. Training for Critical Evaluative Thinking 14. Academy of Evaluation: A Capacity-Building Initiative for Commissioning Authorities 15. Democratic Evaluation Commissioning: Lessons from Theory and Practice Appendix Index
