Fusing foresight and futures thinking for a new transformative evaluation paradigm

Monitoring and evaluation are modern approaches used to study project logic and these help in solving project problems. Taking a few muscles and bones from social research these studies are growing in the fields. Monitoring and evaluation studies take key methods and tools from social research, particularly operational research. Therefore, these are deemed identical to social research but monitoring and evaluation are not social research. These are deserted children of social research who are growing independently in the fields based on needs. This discussion paper doesn’t explore the history of evaluation but explains the conceptual trajectory of evaluation starting from its mandate to the practice. Development or humanitarian sector is not running based on the theory of demand and supply. The development sector is based on the logic of need and fulfillment. Therefore, evaluation in the development sector is also grounded in need. While explaining the conceptual roots and practices of evaluation in the development sector. Commonly used OECD/DAC evaluation criteria are taken for discussion. Hence the evaluation is an abductive approach of study that focuses on project logic and helps in solving project problems or measuring project results. Therefore, an abductive approach to examination is used in this paper. Coming with the deductive approach, the review starts with theory and ends at practice, and following the inductive approach review starts with practice to help generalizing concepts. Both approaches have limitations when applied to examine evaluation practices and mandate. Because the practices and mandate are already existing in the vacuum of evaluation. Therefore, this specific analysis is an attempt to cognize the linkages between existing evaluation theory and practice. Vivid cognition in building trajectory between evaluation ideology and practice. Leads to recognize the scope of evaluation that ultimately contributes to sophisticated evaluation practices. The journey of this analysis embarks with fundamental questions, why the OECD/DAC criteria are being used for evaluations in the development sector, and considered useful? What are the logical links among evaluation mandate, evaluation approach, evaluation frame “OECD/DAC criteria”, and evaluation methods?<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0081/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Recently, the study of evaluation theory and practice has been elevated to a position of prominence. However, while evaluation theory is burgeoning, failure to consider situations of coercion and oppression renders evaluation practice fundamentally deficient. In this paper the search for appropriate methods of evaluation for use in coercive contexts is initiated. Based on Flood and Jackson's (1991) recommendation for the use of Ulrich's Critical System Heuristics (1983) in coercive contexts, the principles of this methodology are used to guide the search. Following the alignment of Critical System Heuristics with Stake's Responsive Evaluation (1980), the potential contribution of critical evaluation methodologies to the general field of critical management studies is assessed.

Quality control of colonoscopy procedures: A prospective validated method for the evaluation of professional practices applicable to all endoscopic units

Curriculum transformation is critical for higher education to meet the changing needs of society and industry in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. However, there is little consensus among stakeholders on its definition and implementation. This qualitative research explores understandings of curriculum transformation and the processes involved in its realization. Findings highlight three key dimensions in conceptualizing curriculum transformation: dynamic and adaptive change, the transformation continuum, and regulated change. The study reveals that the process of curriculum transformation is complex, structured and evolving, and involves information gathering and structural design. While highly contextualized, curriculum transformation generally falls between two models: a top-down approach driven by government influence, or a decentralized, bottom-up change process. Academics in Higher Education Institutions may adopt the integrative meaning of curriculum transformation proposed in this study to facilitate curriculum transformation in a holistic way in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous context.

The rapid growth of the Internet and the increasing reliance on digital systems have significantly expanded the global digital footprint, creating new challenges for cybersecurity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL), have become central to addressing these challenges by enabling the automation of complex and data-intensive tasks across antivirus solutions, intrusion prevention systems, threat intelligence platforms, and email security tools. While these technologies provide high levels of accuracy in detecting anomalies, malware, and other forms of malicious activity, they are often criticized for operating as “black-box” systems. The lack of interpretability in their decision-making processes limits the ability of cybersecurity professionals to fully understand, validate, and trust the outcomes of AI-driven models, thereby restricting their practical adoption in high-stakes environments. To mitigate these limitations, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has emerged as a promising paradigm that aims to make AI outputs transparent, interpretable, and actionable. By providing human-understandable explanations of automated decisions, XAI can bridge the gap between technical performance and practitioner usability, enabling analysts to make informed decisions, improve incident response, and strengthen organizational resilience against both known and emerging threats. This paper reviews recent state-of-the-art developments in XAI for cybersecurity, with a particular emphasis on anomaly detection a critical area for identifying insider threats, zero-day exploits, and atypical system behavior. The review follows a structured literature analysis of peer-reviewed studies published between 2018 and 2025, identified through systematic searches in major academic databases including IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library. After applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria focused on XAI applications in cybersecurity, 53 relevant studies were analysed to synthesize methodological trends, application domains, and evaluation practices. Drawing on these findings, the paper consolidates fragmented research contributions, identifies current gaps, and provides recommendations for advancing the design and adoption of explainable, trustworthy AI systems in cybersecurity. The analysis further highlights a critical deployment challenge: the integration of explainability mechanisms often introduces trade-offs between predictive accuracy, computational efficiency, and real-time scalability factors that are essential in operational cybersecurity environments.

Background: In the evaluation process, it is not only the organising of different views and action plans so as to reach the mutual understanding that advances evaluation utilization through argumentation. It is above all complicated to compose a framework that can ensure clear guidelines for ethical evaluation practice in specific contextual situations and in complex operational environment with conflicting role expectations. Purpose: The aim of this article is to suggest guidelines for ethical reflection in evaluation practice in multiactor networks. For this purpose, we study the normative features of the use of language, illustrate the complexity of ethical decision-making, and discuss the importance of professional virtues in ethical reflection. Setting: Not applicable. Subjects: Not applicable. Research Design: Not applicable. Data Collection and Analysis: Desk review. Findings: The results indicate that from speech acts it may be impossible either to logically derive moral duties or obligations to act, or to present idealising suppositions of such rules for dialogical situations as would ensure the production of universal norms for participants in a conversation. However, the argumentation process is fruitful expressly when the participants can set mutual understanding as a goal and commit to aspire to that goal—although it will be impossible to reach it perfectly in practice. The use of neither extensive principles nor reflection on several theories can ensure a clear view of the situation. Conclusions: The ethics of evaluation is mostly concerned with balancing the conflicting principles and values. Therefore in ethical reflection, the focus should be on commitment to a certain reflective professional way of life in which the identification and acquirement of professional virtues have an important role.

To operate safely, an automated vehicle (AV) must anticipate how the environment around it will evolve. For that purpose, it is important to know which prediction models are most appropriate for every situation. Currently, assessment of prediction models is often performed over a set of trajectories without distinction of the type of movement they capture, resulting in the inability to determine the suitability of each model for different situations. In this work we illustrate how standardized evaluation methods result in wrong conclusions regarding a model's predictive capabilities, preventing a clear assessment of prediction models and potentially leading to dangerous on-road situations. We argue that following evaluation practices in safety assessment for AVs, assessment of prediction models should be performed in a scenario-based fashion. To encourage scenario-based assessment of prediction models and illustrate the dangers of improper assessment, we categorize trajectories of the Waymo Open Motion dataset according to the type of movement they capture. Next, three different models are thoroughly evaluated for different trajectory types and prediction horizons. Results show that common evaluation methods are insufficient and the assessment should be performed depending on the application in which the model will operate.

Advanced three-dimensional extended reality (XR) technologies are highly suitable for cultural heritage research and education. XR tools enable the creation of realistic virtual or augmented reality applications for curating and disseminating information about cultural artifacts and sites. Developing XR applications for cultural heritage requires interdisciplinary collaboration involving strong teamwork and soft skills to manage user requirements, system specifications, and design cycles. Given the diverse end-users, achieving high precision, accuracy, and efficiency in information management and user experience is crucial. Human–computer interaction (HCI) design and evaluation methods are essential for ensuring usability and return on investment. This article presents ten case studies of cultural heritage software projects, illustrating the interdisciplinary work between computer science and HCI design. Students from institutions such as the State University of New York (USA), Glasgow School of Art (UK), University of Granada (Spain), University of Málaga (Spain), Duy Tan University (Vietnam), Imperial College London (UK), Research University Institute of Communication & Computer Systems (Greece), Technical University of Košice (Slovakia), and Indiana University (USA) contributed to creating, assessing, and improving the usability of these diverse cultural heritage applications. The results include a structured typology of CH XR application scenarios, detailed insights into design and evaluation practices across ten international use cases, and a development framework that supports interdisciplinary collaboration and stakeholder integration in phygital cultural heritage projects.

Evaluation: future tense

Evaluating sustainable development is becoming increasingly important in policy making, evaluation practice and the scientific world in general. However, at present, there is neither a generally accepted set of measures and evaluation methods, nor specific standards to be met. Sustainable Development in Europe addresses these issues and presents an important and concise analysis of state-of-the-art sustainable development evaluation policies, programmes and projects currently at work in Europe.

This article reviews and summarizes the popular theories, methods and tools being used to evaluate R&D performance in China, as well as their limitations and drawbacks. Based on it, and referring to practice abroad, some promising approaches and trends are introduced by which to evaluate R&D performance effectively in the coming knowledge-based economy era.

National health services in Ireland and the UK fund the majority of social prescribing services and have issued recommendations for evaluation. However, it is not known what outcomes are prioritised for evaluation within individual services and what evaluation methods are used to capture recommended outcomes. A survey was carried out to examine evaluation practices of social prescribing services on the island of Ireland. This study used a cross-sectional observational design. The sample was all the staff involved in delivering and/or managing SP services on the island of Ireland. Questionnaires were distributed at a national SP conference and online. Closed-response questions were analysed using descriptive statistics. Content analysis was used for open-ended questions. Eighty-four usable surveys were returned (50% from the Republic of Ireland and 50% from Northern Ireland). All respondents (100%) agreed on the importance of measuring SP outcomes. The most frequently measured outcomes were health and well-being (89.2%) and loneliness (84%). The least frequently measured outcome was the satisfaction of healthcare professionals referring to SP: 78.4% of respondents never measured this outcome. The most frequently used measurement tool was the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, with 38/76 (50%) respondents using this measure. There was a lack of standardised measures identified for some outcomes. For example, 70% of respondents reported always measuring physical activity (PA), but only four respondents identified a specific PA measure. In open-ended questions, respondents recommended flexibility in evaluation methods to reflect the complexity and individualised focus of SP. They also identified the need for protected time to complete evaluations and recommended a national strategy to inform priorities in evaluations. This study demonstrates a wide variation on the island of Ireland on how SP services are measuring outcomes, with many outcomes rarely or never measured using standardised measures. Agreement is needed on a core outcome set for social prescribing in order to guide service delivery and evaluations.

A presente pesquisa investigou as concepções de avaliação que predominam no âmbito escolar, tendo como sujeitos os docentes do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola da Rede Estadual na cidade de Dourados / MS. A pesquisa inicialmente se deu por meio de análise bibliográfica sobre a temática, em seguida aplicamos questionário com o propósito de analisar em que medida os pressupostos da literatura se confirmam na prática. As leituras indicam que em geral os professores tem concepções equivocadas em relação à avaliação e usualmente não a compreendem como parte do processo de aprendizagem, pautados em princípios tradicionais ou em compreensões restrita sobre o próprio conceito de avaliação. Os resultados demonstraram que os docentes apresentam percepções homogêneas sobre a avaliação. Tais, resultados, longe de serem conclusivos, ajudam a compreender quais os conceitos que embasam a prática docente no momento de avaliar o seu aluno e a quem essa prática favorece no atual contexto educacional.

Managers and policy makers are continually working toward a desired future within a context of rapid and turbulent change. To be effective in this context, they must look ahead to anticipate emerging trends, issues, opportunities, and threats. Horizon scanning is a foresight method that can help managers and policy makers develop and maintain a broad and externally focused forward view to anticipate and align decisions with both emerging (near-term) and long-term futures. This article reports on the design and early stage development and implementation of a horizon scanning system established for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Strategic Foresight Group, and developed cooperatively with the University of Houston Foresight Program. The goal of the project is to develop an ongoing horizon scanning system as an input to developing environmental foresight: insight into future environmental challenges and opportunities, and the ability to apply that insight to prepare for a sustainable future. In addition, the horizon scanning system is supported by volunteers from within the Forest Service. By including participants from throughout the Forest Service, the project seeks to foster a culture of foresight within the organization, and eventually to develop a more forward looking organizational structure for the USFS and other natural resource management agencies. Lessons learned from the experience to date are shared as well as future challenges for keeping the horizon scanning system in good working order—current, relevant, and consistent.

Dynamic choice in a complex world