The lonely middle

The last of my five from the State of Evaluation report. The report asked whether we feel part of a community of evaluators. Most said yes, but the figure is far higher inside government than among independent and private practitioners.

I read that from the less connected side of the line. I work independently across community, local and national organisations and universities, moving between funders and schemes. The breadth is the privilege of the work and also its loneliness. There is no single desk, no obvious corridor of colleagues.

The report also found that most of us identify as evaluators and see evaluation as a skillset, while fewer would call it a profession. Which raises the question the field is circling. Would formalising help, or would it constrain the boundary-crossing that is the actual value?

I am genuinely unsure. I am, by the report's own description, one of those fluid identities, a consultant, practitioner and facilitator and writer who also evaluates, and indeed, would see that as a specialism in my portfolio. Tidy that up too much and you might lose the very thing that lets me see across. That is a debate worth having out loud, and openly.

#StateOfEvaluation #Evaluation #UKEvaluationSociety #Professionalisation #IndependentConsultant #PortfolioCareer #EvaluationCommunity #FreelanceLife