“Evaluation is a dangerous profession,” writes Chris Lysy of Fresh Spectrum. “Not dangerous as in it requires hard hats or tethers. But dangerous in that it questions realities most would rather ignore.”
Lysy’s clever cartoon, featured in his 2020 post, “Evaluation is a dangerous profession”, communicates the challenges of being an evaluator by comparing evaluators with researchers.
The table below further illustrates the differences between evaluation and research.
“While researchers follow their intellectual curiosities in order to answer questions. Evaluators follow their own as they proceed to question answers,” says Lysy. This process often means evaluators have to deliver news that their clients aren’t ready to hear.
It’s a tough position to be in, but delivering difficult news is part of our mission as evaluators. At least we know we’re not alone.
