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.
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Departamento de Proyectos y Planificación Rural, Avenida de la Complutense s/n, Madrid 28040, Spain. jm.diazpuente@upm.es
José M
JM
Díaz-Puente
José L
JL
Yagüe
Ana
A
Afonso
D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005062:European Union; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D012939:Social Planning; D013030:Spain