Internal evaluation of a management‐development initiative: a public‐sector case

Purpose – The central concern of this paper is to analyze how a management‐development (MD) program can be promoted through internal evaluation. The aim of this article is, through an evaluation experience, to study the usability of internal process‐oriented evaluation in the context of a public‐sector professional organization. Design/methodology/approach – A case from a public‐sector professional organization is used as an example to demonstrate the idea of evaluative development orientation, which is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings in fostering organizational change and learning in one's own organization. It is a holistic approach, which consists of continuous scanning of emerging effects and systematic monitoring and documentation of the process of the program. Findings – Develops the idea of using internal process‐oriented evaluation as a method to promote the organizational development initiative. Points out some lessons learned with regard to the following main themes: managing data, managing role variety, and managing organizational politics. Originality/value – Evaluative interest in MD has been mainly focused on consequences of individual concern in skills learned or the impact on career development. The connections to the strategy, capacity building or motivation of the organization have been weak and the development effort itself has been taken as a “black box”: the understanding of what the outcomes are outcomes of has been inadequate.