S04_ Evaluating democracy, governance, and recovery support when the stakes are high: methods, accountability and learning in complex, fragile, politicized and conflict-affected contexts
S06_ Evaluation for Transformative Democratic Futures: Addressing the polycrisis through systemic learning, power shifts and regeneration
S04_ Evaluating democracy, governance, and recovery support when the stakes are high: methods, accountability and learning in complex, fragile, politicized and conflict-affected contexts
S06_ Evaluation for Transformative Democratic Futures: Addressing the polycrisis through systemic learning, power shifts and regeneration
S05_ Evaluating Philanthropy in Context: Relational Dynamics, Accountability, and Institutional Environments
Jaroslav Dvorak, Tomasz Kupiec
Rationale and Objectives
Philanthropy has become a central actor in addressing complex social challenges, yet its evaluation remains deeply contested. This strand aligns with the overall conference theme by critically examining how evaluation practices in philanthropy are shaped by relational dynamics and institutional environments, and how they, in turn, influence democratic accountability, learning, and social change. By focusing on the meso-level (relationships among donors, communities, fundraisers, and evaluators) and the macro-level (institutional pressures, norms, and power structures), the strand speaks directly to broader debates on governance, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making in complex systems.
Objectives
The primary objective of this strand is to advance theoretical, empirical, and practice-oriented understanding of how philanthropic evaluation can better account for relational processes, power asymmetries, and institutional constraints. Building on recent scholarship, including Benjamin et al. (2023), the strand aims to move beyond narrow, project-based evaluation logics and explore evaluation as a socially embedded, contested, and political practice.
Key issues and questions to be explored
The strand will explore, among others, the following interrelated questions:
• What should be evaluated in philanthropy: projects, organizations, networks, communities, or systems?
• For what purposes are philanthropic evaluations conducted (control, compliance, learning, empowerment), and how do these purposes shape evaluation design and use?
• How do power relations influence the choice of evaluation criteria and definitions of success? Anticipated contributions The strand aims to contribute to:
• Theory, by advancing relational and institutional perspectives on evaluation in philanthropy;
• Practice, by offering insights into more inclusive, learning-oriented, and context-sensitive evaluation approaches;
• Policy dialogue, by critically reflecting on accountability regimes, funding structures, and evaluation governance in the philanthropic and voluntary sectors.
Objectives
The primary objective of this strand is to advance theoretical, empirical, and practice-oriented understanding of how philanthropic evaluation can better account for relational processes, power asymmetries, and institutional constraints. Building on recent scholarship, including Benjamin et al. (2023), the strand aims to move beyond narrow, project-based evaluation logics and explore evaluation as a socially embedded, contested, and political practice.
Key issues and questions to be explored
The strand will explore, among others, the following interrelated questions:
• What should be evaluated in philanthropy: projects, organizations, networks, communities, or systems?
• For what purposes are philanthropic evaluations conducted (control, compliance, learning, empowerment), and how do these purposes shape evaluation design and use?
• How do power relations influence the choice of evaluation criteria and definitions of success? Anticipated contributions The strand aims to contribute to:
• Theory, by advancing relational and institutional perspectives on evaluation in philanthropy;
• Practice, by offering insights into more inclusive, learning-oriented, and context-sensitive evaluation approaches;
• Policy dialogue, by critically reflecting on accountability regimes, funding structures, and evaluation governance in the philanthropic and voluntary sectors.
Strand Overview
The strand is envisioned as a coherent sequence of 3 sessions, each building on the previous one to develop a cumulative narrative from conceptual foundations to practical and policy implications.
Session 1: Conceptualizing Philanthropy and Evaluation as Relational Practices
Rationale and objectives:
This session establishes the theoretical foundations of the strand by examining philanthropy as a relational and contested concept. It explores how different understandings of philanthropy (horizontal vs. vertical) shape evaluation assumptions and practices.
Prospective facilitators:
Stijn Van Puyvelde, University of Antwerp
Jaroslav Dvorak, Klaipėda University
Session 2: Purposes of Evaluation – Accountability, Learning, and Power
Rationale and objectives:
Focusing on the “for what purpose?” question, this session examines tensions between compliance-driven and learning-driven evaluation approaches. It explores how power relations among donors, evaluators, and communities influence evaluation use and meaning.
Prospective facilitators:
Oto Potluka, University of Basel
Session 3: Criteria and Evidence in Complex Philanthropic Environments
Rationale and objectives:
This session addresses the politics of criteria and evidence in philanthropic evaluation. It invites discussion on how evaluation criteria can enable or constrain transformational change, potentially harm communities, and how diverse methods (including qualitative, participatory, and AI-supported approaches) affect credibility.
Prospective facilitators:
Jaroslav Dvorak, Klaipėda University
3. Involvement of New and Younger Contributors
To move beyond existing networks, the strand will:
• Actively encourage submissions from early-career researchers and doctoral candidates;
• Include discussant roles for senior scholars paired with junior presenters;
• Foster dialogical session formats (roundtables, reflexive discussions) rather than only traditional paper panels;
• Explicitly welcome practice-based and policy-oriented contributions from voluntary sector professionals.
4. Coherence and Narrative of the Strand
The sessions are designed to form a coherent narrative:
Conceptual foundations of relational philanthropy and evaluation;
Purposes and power shaping evaluation practices;
Criteria and evidence in complex, value-laden environments;
Session 1: Conceptualizing Philanthropy and Evaluation as Relational Practices
Rationale and objectives:
This session establishes the theoretical foundations of the strand by examining philanthropy as a relational and contested concept. It explores how different understandings of philanthropy (horizontal vs. vertical) shape evaluation assumptions and practices.
Prospective facilitators:
Stijn Van Puyvelde, University of Antwerp
Jaroslav Dvorak, Klaipėda University
Session 2: Purposes of Evaluation – Accountability, Learning, and Power
Rationale and objectives:
Focusing on the “for what purpose?” question, this session examines tensions between compliance-driven and learning-driven evaluation approaches. It explores how power relations among donors, evaluators, and communities influence evaluation use and meaning.
Prospective facilitators:
Oto Potluka, University of Basel
Session 3: Criteria and Evidence in Complex Philanthropic Environments
Rationale and objectives:
This session addresses the politics of criteria and evidence in philanthropic evaluation. It invites discussion on how evaluation criteria can enable or constrain transformational change, potentially harm communities, and how diverse methods (including qualitative, participatory, and AI-supported approaches) affect credibility.
Prospective facilitators:
Jaroslav Dvorak, Klaipėda University
3. Involvement of New and Younger Contributors
To move beyond existing networks, the strand will:
• Actively encourage submissions from early-career researchers and doctoral candidates;
• Include discussant roles for senior scholars paired with junior presenters;
• Foster dialogical session formats (roundtables, reflexive discussions) rather than only traditional paper panels;
• Explicitly welcome practice-based and policy-oriented contributions from voluntary sector professionals.
4. Coherence and Narrative of the Strand
The sessions are designed to form a coherent narrative:
Conceptual foundations of relational philanthropy and evaluation;
Purposes and power shaping evaluation practices;
Criteria and evidence in complex, value-laden environments;
