Community development: a critical review of approaches to evaluation

With the growing interest in community-based initiatives, this discussion p aper focuses upon the evaluation of community development. It reviews three areas and highlights the complex and contentious nature of evaluation in t his field. Commencing with approaches to evaluation, it critically reviews proposed methods and suggests that, rather than provide clarity and guidanc e, the competing designs are confusing for the potential researcher, Second , the discussion moves to evaluative terms that are applied to community de velopment, suggesting that there is a mismatch between professional and lay interpretations with an ultimate impact upon the validity of their measure ment. It uses the terms community and empowerment to make those differences more explicit. Finally, the paper argues that, although the aim of communi ty-based initiatives is to bring about community health gain, gauging the p ervasiveness of discreet project work is testing. It concludes by suggestin g that a move away from an evaluative model based upon empowerment towards one which considers health and social capital may be a way forward.