Evaluation Policy in the Netherlands

This chapter discusses the development of evaluation policy in the netherlands. It distinguishes between several periods: the 1970s and before, when there was little or no evaluation, much less evaluation policy; the late 1970s and 1980s, when evaluation increased but there was still little formal policy; the 1990s, when the government began to establish its formal evaluation policy; and the current decade, when evaluation policy was further formalized and evaluation activities blossomed. The author shows that the dutch policy has always been rather liberal, leaving much room to the community of professionals. The chapter concludes with a summary of the current state of evaluation policy in the netherlands, showing that the critique on evaluations and the two other strands of activities that produce “evaluative feedback” (i.e., performance auditing and inspection/oversight) is increasing.