Goal-Free Evaluation

This approach, developed by Michael Scriven, rests on the premise that an evaluation should examine the value of a program by investigating what it is doing rather than what it is trying to do. It is, in large part, an approach designed to reduce a particular kind of bias in evaluation. In other words, the organization of the evaluation is not based on what the program's goals are but rather on what the program is actually doing. If the program is meeting its goals and objectives, this should become apparent through an investigation of the program's activities and outcomes. The orientation in goal-free evaluation is more toward the ways in which a program meets the needs of its target clients or population and less on ...