Evaluation might sound like a ho-hum subject, but more than 100 people were alternately glued to their seats and rolling on the floor from laughter at a June 11th seminar sponsored by SHATIL, One to One Israel and the Israel Association for Program Evaluation.

The Evaluation Triangle: the Funder, the NGO and the Evaluator, was organized as part of SHATIL’s deepening focus on evaluation, an important but charged issue. It was called to address the power of evaluation for improving organizations’ work and to deal with tensions around questions such as ethics vs. interest, funders’ demands vs. organizations’ priorities, evaluation models and more.   Guest speaker Prof. Jane King, a world renowned evaluation expert from the University of Minnesota, regaled and challenged the audience. Evaluation means different things to different people, she said. Instead of each side of the triangle feeling defensive and fearful (or as she quoted her fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan, “It Ain’t Me Babe"), trust and openness in the process are crucial. The purpose of evaluation, she continued, is to improve their organization’s practice and achieve better outcomes.

A panel representing the three sides of the evaluation triangle held a needed and honest dialogue about often painful issues: organizations’ fear of and frustration around evaluation, funders’ demands, and the professional evaluator’s dilemmas. The audience, which included many foundation as well as organizational representatives, responded with lively, thoughtful questions.

The complexities of trying to evaluate work for social change were highlighted by the speakers. SHATIL Director, Rachel Liel gave an example from the work of the Israeli Committee against Torture. “If their work had been evaluated after one year or even two or three, they would have been considered a failure,” she said. Nine years later, however, the organization was responsible for the passage of new legislation against torture.

During the second half of the day, participants had an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and thinking about different aspects of evaluation in small groups led by Dr. King and the Moriah Fund’s Don Futterman.

The seminar was translated into sign language.