Internal Evaluation

Strengths and Weaknesses of Internal Evaluation

Within the organizational context, internal evaluation has many strengths. The relationships that internal evaluators build over time enable them to reduce the anxiety and fear often associated with external evaluations. As staff members of an organization, internal evaluators tend to know more about the organization's programs, organizational context, and political processes. This knowledge allows them to select evaluation strategies that fit the unique characteristics of their situation and to have their findings accepted more readily. Internal evaluators can become a valued corporate resource by communicating relevant evaluation findings in a timely fashion, supplying crucial evaluation information for strategy planning and policy decisions, creating a “corporate memory,” and building an evaluation culture.

The major weakness of internal evaluation is that it is perceived as being less objective. This perception may be crucial when there are financial or legal concerns and when accountability is a major focus. The pitfalls of internal evaluation, however, can be largely overcome by careful attention to evaluation methodology and by strategies such as having an external evaluator validate the internal evaluation process.

Roles of Internal Evaluation

Internal evaluation is an applied research activity that supports organizational development and learning. To accomplish this mission, internal evaluators need to assume proactive and challenging roles that include identifying best practices, identifying organizational factors that influence performance, and monitoring the implementation of solutions based on evaluation [Page 207]findings. They need to avoid negative roles such as those of number cruncher, whistleblower, or spy for senior management.

Models of Internal Evaluation

There are several popular internal evaluation models. The “internal departmental” is a common model in larger organizations that have a separate internal evaluation unit. The head of this unit usually reports directly to the chief executive or senior vice-president of the organization, thereby giving the unit significant independence and influence. A second model is the “embedded” internal evaluation function. In this model, managers or project team leaders carry parttime evaluation responsibility. They are part of the team and use evaluation to strengthen programs by identifying potential problems and monitoring implementation. A third model is the “hybrid” that couples the skills and objectivity of an external evaluator with the organizational savvy of internal evaluators.

...