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The central questions of this article are when, how and what do governmental agencies learn from evaluations. A structural constructivist theoretical framework is developed and applied to two case studies, both of which take a report by the Dutch Court of Audit (CoA) as a starting point. A reconstruction is made of the intra- and interorganizational processes through which the impacts of these evaluations were socially constructed. It appears that an evaluation has hardly 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 the actors involved. Using a structural constructivist theoretical framework we identify mechanisms and conditions that enhance forms of learning processes.This article concludes with some hypotheses about the genesis of evaluation impact.

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.

Research and teaching are core business of academic institutions. The research context is thought to be fruitful for teaching and learning, and students may contribute to research. But how exactly does the interplay between research and teaching take place and how, in what respects and under which conditions, does this contribute to the quality of research and teaching? The article makes an inventory of functions of research in teaching in public administration curricula. It elaborates on conditions and mechanisms for effective realization of these functions, based on the contributions to this special issue, literature and our own insights and experiences. We evaluate and reflect on different functions and modes of linking research and teaching and to explore relevant conditions for their use.

Two main functions of evaluation are enabling accountability and collective learning. Both of these – and their combination – run into diverse complications when applied in complex multi-actor policy processes. The article explores these complications and illustrates them with examples from the field of spatial policy. In doing so, a third function of evaluation in such contexts is identified, viz. evaluation as an instrument of co-operation. Next, a number of theoretical ideas, supported by empirical research, are proposed in order to understand better when, why and how evaluation contributes to complex multi-actor policy processes. Based on these insights, some principles are elaborated for the development of constructive evaluation arrangements. The authors suggest that co-operation is a precondition for the preservation of accountability and learning functions of evaluation in multi-actor settings.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors for the management of complex change processes in fire service organizations and to apply these in a case study of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond fire service.


Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides review of literature on organizational change, case study of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond fire service supported by the analysis of policy documents and 30 semi-structured interviews with key persons.


Findings
Combining different theoretical approaches helps to get a more complete picture of important issues and dilemma's in the management of change processes – which is a first step in the successful implementation of changes – whereas other approaches tend to emphasize only some and overlook others. Applied in a case study, this approach revealed serious weaknesses in the management of change within the Rotterdam-Rijnmond fire service and offered practical guides for solutions.


Originality/value
This paper combines insights from different theoretical approaches into a more integrated perspective that aims to be helpful as a practical tool for designing and implementing complex changes in fire service organizations.