Table 2 The eight principles of developmental evaluation
DE principles | Brief description of DE principles |
|---|---|
Developmental purpose | The focus is on informing and supporting an innovation in its development, thereby differentiating DE from traditional evaluation methods that seek to assess the degree to which goals/aims were achieved |
Innovation niche | DE is only possible if innovation is present or if efforts are being made to institute it |
Complexity perspective | Adaptive evaluation design and processes enable the identification and analyses of emergent findings |
Systems thinking | Key to DE is employing systems thinking to frame, design and address complex problems while attending to boundaries, perspectives and interrelationships |
Evaluation rigour | To be credible and useful, DE needs to employ both rigorous thinking and evaluation methods |
Co-creation | Simultaneously developing the innovation and the evaluation with diverse stakeholders stimulates and streamlines the change process |
Utilisation focus | A strong utilitarian focus ensures that findings are useful for end-users |
Timely feedback | Iterative, progressive processes ensure that feedback is ongoing and prompt to maximise utility |