The forgotten contexts of evaluation

Abstract

Context is a well-discussed but still elusive concept in evaluation. The authors of this article acknowledge there is considerable literature on context in an evaluation setting, with multiple frameworks, theories and methodologies guided by context. However, the authors believe there is little practical and pragmatic guidance for evaluators regarding how to locate and determine what is contextually relevant. To address this gap, the authors have mapped tools to Rog’s ‘bringing the background to the foreground’ framework. A further contribution to the literature is the addition of the ‘action context’ to Rog’s framework. This describes the period following evaluation when there can be problem redefinition and intervention redesign. This article provides guidance to evaluators on how to locate context through the application of well-established tools, primarily borrowed from business disciplines.