Digital-era evaluation: Automating and reconfiguring evaluation in the social service sector

Abstract

Evaluation has become an institutionalised feature of public and social sector administration. With the advent of digital-era governance it is evident that further changes to the evaluation landscape are imminent. This study seeks to identify how evaluation practices will change, evolve or persist with advancing technologies. Drawing on discursive institutionalisation’s conceptualisation of change, we conducted discourse analysis of 25 qualitative interview transcripts, focusing on objects, legitimacy frames and values. Our findings indicate a significant shift towards digital-era evaluation through the automation of data collection, analysis and reporting, shifting control from external evaluators to in-house functions. Despite these shifts, traditional evaluation features remain entrenched, potentially limiting the future scope and utility of evaluation for social sector organisations.