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S12_ From principles to practice: a shared framework for responsive evaluation

S14_ Learning, Equity, and Innovation in EU Policy Evaluation: Methods and Practice for Vibrant Democracies [joint TWG 7 EU Policies and EEPF Proposal]

S12_ From principles to practice: a shared framework for responsive evaluation

S14_ Learning, Equity, and Innovation in EU Policy Evaluation: Methods and Practice for Vibrant Democracies [joint TWG 7 EU Policies and EEPF Proposal]

S13_ How is emerging artificial intelligence intersecting with evaluation and democracy? Towards new practice and adoption

Alix De Saint-albin, Bianca Montrosse-moorhead, Linda Raftree, Steffen Bohni Nielsen
Rationale and Objectives
Entire democratic ecosystems are being (re)shaped by emerging artificial intelligence (AI). Here ‘democratic ecosystems’ refer to the interconnected network of organizations, initiatives, technologies, and people working together to inform, strengthen, protect, and reform democratic practices, institutions, and infrastructure. AI is also revolutionizing evaluation -- an aspect of and for democratic ecosystems -- requiring us to re-examine fundamental evaluation issues.

Example questions include:
1. What is emerging AI and how is it used in evaluation?
2. What is ‘’Responsible AI” in evaluation, what elements does it include, and how does it intersect with democracy and democratic principles?
3. How is emerging AI reshaping evaluation supply and demand?
4. Where does professional judgment erode in AI-enabled evaluation, and how might a Responsible AI framework change this?
5. How are VOPEs responding to AI-driven change and how might they collaborate to address challenges related to emerging AI?
C. Several audiences will benefit (practitioners and consultants, including YEEs; researchers; and representatives from international organizations, national administrations, and NGOs).

This strand seeks contributions that share GenAI in evaluation case studies or case examples of use; discuss AI guidelines, charters, resources, etc developed or in development by VOPEs, evaluation organizations, or evaluation initiatives; or contribute to a shared understanding of responsible AI as it manifests within a range of evaluation theories and practices.

Preference will be given to proposals that explicitly demonstrate or discuss responsible AI, especially those that authentically include YEEs. ‘Responsible AI’ is understood as developing and using AI tools, products, and systems that are compliant with laws; uphold human rights provisions; are socially, culturally, and contextually sensitive; strengthen equity; uphold scientific standards; and strengthen evaluation as a profession and discipline.
Strand Overview
We will organize six sessions. Sessions 2 and 5 will be finalized through Call B.

1. “Level-Up”: Emerging AI and evaluation practice
Session introducing AI in evaluation basics, including current tools, practices, and implications

2. Living the tensions: Responsible AI evaluation case
Case studies to identify when and how AI in evaluation raises challenges for democratic principles, and how evaluators can respond to them using a Responsible AI framework

3. AI: A shock to the evaluation market?
Thematic panel to identify how and where AI is affecting evaluation supply and demand, and whether and how Responsible AI intersects

4. Evaluator competencies & capabilities: Where do we lose professional judgment in using AI?
Thematic panel to identify what evaluator competencies are impacted by AI, how AI forces evaluators to redefine their roles, judgment and responsibilities, and how a Responsible AI framing might guide professional standards and expected competencies

5. Professional evaluation organizations, groups, & initiatives: What is their evaluation + AI strategy?
Geographical case session to distill AI strategies developed by VOPEs, evaluation organizations, and evaluation initiatives and explore how a global conversation could advance shared frameworks for AI in evaluation

6. A world café on Responsible AI, evaluation, and democracy
Fishbowl to inform a Responsible AI in Evaluation strategy and potentially establish a global working group

Sessions form a coherent narrative exploring several interrelated themes (governance, ethics, practice, power, judgment, legitimacy) in service of a central concern: Will the international evaluation community shape AI use around these themes? Or will they allow those choices to be made for them by others?
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Taraneh Sayadi

David joined the European Commission in 1995 and the Joint Research Centre (the Commission's science and knowledge service) in 2011.

He is currently Head of Unit responsible for the JRC’s work on democracy, public governance and public administration ("JRC.S.2 Science for Democracy, Public Governance and Administration").

Evidence-Informed Policy Making

Community of Practice on Democracy (CoP Demos)

Organisational Transformation

Between 2011 and 2016 he was Head of Unit responsible for the JRC work programme, science advice to policy and foresight. From April 2015 to December 2015 he was Acting Director.

From 1998 to 2011 he worked in DG Health and Consumers on consumer policy strategy, regulatory enforcement and research, data and statistics, as Head of Unit between 2007 to 2011 for consumer market monitoring and analysis, Consumer Markets Scoreboard and work on consumer behaviour. Before that he worked for DG Taxation, the UK Treasury, UBS and the British Army. He studied History at Cambridge University.

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Mhairi Aitken

Dr Mhairi Aitken is an internationally recognised expert in AI ethics and responsible innovation, with a focus on participatory research and inclusive practice. She leads groundbreaking research on child-centred AI, and in 2025 she organised the world’s first Children’s AI Summit.

Mhairi is a Co-Founder and Director of Our AI Collective and a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Digital Environment Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London. Previously, between 2020 and 2026 Mhairi was Senior Ethics Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute (the UK’s national institute for AI and data science), where she led a groundbreaking programme of research on Children and AI and worked across a range of topics including public voices in AI, data justice, ethics of Generative AI and emerging AI policy and regulation. Mhairi co-developed the Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Impact Assessment (HUDERIA) tool that was formally adopted by the Council of Europe in 2024.

Mhairi is passionate about public engagement with AI, including through performing shows about her research at festivals and in stand-up comedy clubs, she is a frequent contributor to media discussions around AI and data, and was included in the international list of “100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics”

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David Mair

David joined the European Commission in 1995 and the Joint Research Centre (the Commission's science and knowledge service) in 2011.

He is currently Head of Unit responsible for the JRC’s work on democracy, public governance and public administration ("JRC.S.2 Science for Democracy, Public Governance and Administration").

Evidence-Informed Policy Making

Community of Practice on Democracy (CoP Demos)

Organisational Transformation

Between 2011 and 2016 he was Head of Unit responsible for the JRC work programme, science advice to policy and foresight. From April 2015 to December 2015 he was Acting Director.

From 1998 to 2011 he worked in DG Health and Consumers on consumer policy strategy, regulatory enforcement and research, data and statistics, as Head of Unit between 2007 to 2011 for consumer market monitoring and analysis, Consumer Markets Scoreboard and work on consumer behaviour. Before that he worked for DG Taxation, the UK Treasury, UBS and the British Army. He studied History at Cambridge University.

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Elena Korosteleva

Elena Korosteleva is Professor of International Politics and Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) at the University of Warwick. In 2024 Elena was appointed Chair for the Sustainability Spotlight, Warwick-wide interdisciplinary research network to address sustainability challenges collectively, and was elected to serve on the Scientific Council for COP29. Elena is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, and Jean Monnet Chair, which she was awarded twice by the European Commission in recognition of her research and teaching excellence.

Professor Korosteleva's research is situated at the innovative intersection of Complex IR, Politics and Governance Studies with a focus on resilience and democracy. Her GCRF UKRI COMPASS+ (2017–23, PI, £4+ million) project received higher commendation for the Best International Collaboration of 2021 by the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards, despite the COVID-19 challenges. In 2026 Elena received a research award from the University of Warwick for her research culture leadership. Elena is a founder of four cross-disciplinary research centres on European, Eurasian and Global Studies, including the award-winning ECR Sustainability Training School at Warwick. Elena works closely with His Majesty's Government (particularly the FCDO), Parliament, EU institutions and regional and national governments. She is the author of over 100 publications, including her Oxford University Press single-authored book Complexity and Community in IR: Nurturing Resilience in Central Eurasia (2025, Open Access).

Elena Korosteleva also contributed her paper "Democracy Support in an Age of Complexity: A Central Asian Perspective", as part of the forum Global Perspectives on Democracy Support in Light of the Wars in Gaza and Ukraine (May 2025), published in International Studies Perspectives.