Suchergebnisse

The central question of this article is when, how and what do governmental agencies learn from evaluations. A structural constructivist theoretical framework is developed and applied to two case studies, in both of which a report of the Dutch Court of Audit is taken as a starting point. A reconstruction is made of the intra- and interorganizational processes in which the impacts of these evaluations were socially constructed. It appears that an evaluation hardly has any direct effect that can be unequivocally ascribed to it. Rather, evaluations seem to support or counteract debates, tendencies and options already present (or 'under construction') in the interaction among actors involved. Using a structural constructivist theoretical framework we identify mechanisms and conditions that enhance forms of learning processes. The paper concludes with some hypotheses about the genesis of evaluation impact.

Elkaar versterkende processen van maatschappelijke en technologische ontwikkeling leiden tot fragmentatie, waardepluraliteit en culturele dynamiek. De rol en functie van de overheid (beter: overheden) komt daardoor in een ander licht te staan. Waar de hedendaagse samenlevingen als context voor overheidssturing veelal met de netwerkmetafoor worden beschreven, wordt de overheidsrol vaak in termen van netwerksturing gedacht. Zowel actoren als relaties in een netwerk worden gekenmerkt door autopoiese. Niettemin is verandering mogelijk door koppeling van bestaande patronen aan nieuwe input. Sturingsstrategie?n moeten daarbij worden beoordeeld naar de wijze waarop zij met diversiteit in waardeori?ntaties en werkelijkheidsdefinities omgaan.

The pace of societal change and the development of societal challenges have speeded up considerably during the last couple of decades, with substantial impact on different levels, i.e. ranging from global to local, or from business to government. When focusing on the public domain, these changes and challenges have had a major impact on public professionals, who face different and frequently changing questions. Mid-career programs in Public Administration (MPA) have the mission to support enrolled professionals in dealing with these changes and challenges. This article is about the development of such MPAs. Both substantive and didactic development is needed. To counter institutional inertia it seems vital to institutionalize a regular rethinking and adaptation of curricula and didactic strategies. This article identified some important points of attention and some options to deal with these in order to continuously improve the contribution of MPA programs to relevant and effective professional development and ongoing professional learning.