On-going
on-going is a made-up word in evaluation research and is based on the English word ongoing, which freely translated means “currently”, but in connection with evaluation it should be better translated as “during implementation”.
Dimensions of evaluation research
The basic task of evaluation research is to examine the material, personal, institutional, financial and theoretical framework or input conditions of a program, which is achieved primarily through the use of the so-called analysis perspectives ex-ante , on-going and ex-post . These analysis perspectives can in turn be found within evaluation research in the three phases of the political process (planning phase; implementation phase; impact phase). On-going should be located in the implementation phase:
| Phases of the program process | Analysis perspective | Cognitive interest | Evaluation concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| planning phase | ex ante | analysis for policy / science for action | performative / formative: actively creating, process-oriented, constructive |
| Implementation phase | on-going | both possible | formative / summative: both possible |
| Effect phase | ex-post | analysis of policy / science for knowledge | summative: summarizing, accounting, results-oriented |
Implementation phase
The implementation phase is devoted to the systematic examination of the planning, implementation and execution of a program or project and is accordingly also called the implementation phase. During this implementation phase, formative as well as summative evaluations are possible, i.e. on-going evaluations can be both active, process-oriented and constructive as well as summarizing, balancing and result-oriented. (For the distinction between formative and summative see also: Wottawa / Thierau, Textbook Evaluation, Bern 1990, p. 56.)
The result is that on-going evaluations deal with the time during the course of a program, which can include a longer period of time, so that several on-going evaluations can take place during an investigation of a program / project, that is, it can give several evaluation times:
Timeline:
––TO –––––– tb –––––– t1 –––––– t2 –––––– tn –––––– tf –––––– te –– ›
| abbreviation | description | |
|---|---|---|
| t0 | Ex ante evaluation | |
| tb | Evaluation at the beginning of the program funding | |
| t1 - tn | Evaluation times during implementation (on-going) | |
| tf | Final evaluation at the end of the funding period | |
| te | Ex-post evaluation after the end of funding |
On-going evaluations always serve to monitor the implementation and execution of ongoing programs and are also called accompanying research or formative evaluations. Ultimately, on-going evaluations always have the control and advisory function, in which the aim is to collect and evaluate information about the course of the program and the program results. This creates possible decision-making aids for controlling the implementation of the program, which specifically means that z. B. early correction options for changes in the program design are possible. Furthermore, on-going evaluations provide information about all those involved in the program and check whether they are fulfilling their tasks and obligations, so that a kind of error analysis is carried out at this point as well .
Overall, on-going therefore has an important control function during the implementation phase of evaluation research.
literature
- Wottawa / Thierau: Textbook Evaluation . Bern 1990.
- Stockmann (ed.): Evaluation research . Opladen 2000.
- Stockmann: Evaluation and quality development . Munster 2006.