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The Institutionalisation of Evaluation in Europe

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Abstract

Among the most influential factors upon the institutionalisation of evaluation are: The large public sector in Denmark, the political system with coalition governments, ministerial jurisdiction over each policy area (rather than one general evaluation policy), a comparatively high level of trust in public authorities among citizens, a number of NPM-inspired reforms, a high degree decentralisation in government, and a fairly intense ongoing debate about evaluation. The layering of several evaluation objects and several forms of evaluation make configurations of evaluative mechanisms complex and dynamic. It is pragmatic rather than shaped by large, overarching principles. More evaluation is not always followed by more transparency and accountability. All in all, the chapter paints a picture of evaluation in Denmark characterised by international influences and national specificity, by general trends and much diversity, by increasing institutionalisation, but also backlashes, as well as by both “maturation” and no small amount of contestation and debate.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank professor emeritus Evert Vedung for his valuable and insightful comments to a draft version of this chapter. Also, Olaf Rieper provided fruitful suggestions for improvements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Peter Dahler-Larsen & Hanne Foss Hansen

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  1. Peter Dahler-Larsen
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  2. Hanne Foss Hansen
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Correspondence to Peter Dahler-Larsen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany

    Reinhard Stockmann

  2. Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany

    Wolfgang Meyer

  3. Centre for Evaluation, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany

    Lena Taube

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Dahler-Larsen, P., Hansen, H.F. (2020). Denmark. In: Stockmann, R., Meyer, W., Taube, L. (eds) The Institutionalisation of Evaluation in Europe . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32284-7_2

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