About us

We are a non-profit, non-governmental organization.
Our mission comprises:

  • building and promoting the evaluation culture,
  • organizing and integrating the evaluators’ community,
  • enriching the knowledge of evaluation in order to assure the quality of evaluation research and activities.

The objectives of the Society, i.e. building the evaluation culture and promoting evaluation in Poland as a democratic and social process, are being achieved through:

  • organizing studies, courses and trainings,
  • carrying out evaluation research work,
  • exchange of experience with other societies, institutions and organizations,
  • organizing meetings, seminars and conferences,
  • publications on evaluation,
  • consulting and advisory services.

Realizacja epidot.pl

Inauguration of the PTE Mentor Program "Mentor4EVAL"

MODERATOR: Alicja Zajączkowska – member of the board of PTE, author and coordinator of the PTE Mentor4EVAL Mentoring Program, President of the Board of PrePost Consulting Sp. z o.o., evaluator at the Social Innovation Laboratory

PANEL DESCRIPTION

During the congress, the proprietary PTE program will be inaugurated under the name: "Mentor4EVAL".

The program aims to develop the potential and support the professional development of evaluators, improve their research competences, increase mentoring competences as well as strengthen cooperation and integration of the evaluators' community.

Persons interested in taking advantage of mentoring - members of PTE and people who are considering joining the PTE may apply to participate in the Program.

We invite experienced researchers and evaluators who are ready to pro bono conduct mentoring processes in the area of ​​research and evaluation, the evaluation market and professional development.

From among the submitted applications, 10 mentoring pairs will be selected.

The Mentor4EVAL mentoring program will last until June 2022 and includes, over a period of 6 months, approx. 10 individual mentoring sessions as well as remote group meetings of mentee and mentors of an educational and integration nature, supporting the mentoring process and sharing experiences.

The patronage over the program was taken by the Forum of Mentors

Evaluation – Beyond the limits of parametrization

MODERATOR: prof. Leszek Korporowicz – Prezes Honorowy PTE, Uniwersytet Jagielloński

PANEL DESCRIPTION

Contemporary evaluation designed for the Polish academic education system has adopted one of the most technocratic ways of redefining its concept into multi-component models of parameterization. The main aim of the panel is to try to answer what consequences of the process of such far-reaching reduction evokes in the methodological and social logic of the evaluation process. The second purpose is to answer how potential changes can exceed the evaluative limits of parameterization. The subject of the panel continues the achievements and findings of the seminar held at the Jagiellonian University in April 2019 with the participation of representatives of the Polish Evaluation Society. The results of the seminar were published in the scientific journal "Educatio Nova".[1] Since the situation of the parameterization version of evaluation has not changed, and the processes of its institutionalization have deepened, it is necessary to diagnose the situation by referring to both canonical standards of evaluation in education created during one hundred years of its development, as well as to the axioms developed in the process of its democratization and socialization present in the theory and practice of international evaluation environments and the activity of the PES. Restoring the social rationality of evaluation in the academic education system through revitalization and conscious actions for the development of the developmentally understood evaluation culture is one of its challenges. It stands not only before the animators of dialogically and pro-developmental oriented evaluation, but also participants and managers of institutional changes in the system and methods of its cooperation with the environment who are aware of the problem. Developing guidelines for effective methods promoting awareness of the social responsibility of evaluation in the conditions of its functional limitation will be a task addressed to invited guests. They will be professors of Polish universities with exceptional achievements, experience and involvement in the practical development of research and evaluation concepts.

[1] Annales Universitatis  Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio N „Educatio Nova”, No 4 (2019),  ISSN 2451-0491

Participants

Professor Henryk Mizerek - head of the Department of Social Pedagogy and Educational Research Methodology at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, specialist in the field of methodology of social science. Educational evaluation occupies a special place in his studies and research. He is the author of many publications in this area. The most important of them is:
H. Mizerek (2017), Ewaluacja edukacyjna. Interdyskursywne dialogi i konfrontacje (Educational evaluation. Interdiscursive dialogues and confrontations), Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”
H. Mizerek (2015) Evidence-Based Practice in Education: Premises, Dilemmas, Prospects, Forum Oświatowe, 27(2), https://forumoswiatowe.pl/index.php/czasopismo/article/view/324/260
H. Mizerek (2020), Ewaluacje konstruktywistyczne. Implikacje dla wczesnej edukacji (Constructivist evaluation. Implications for early education), Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji, 4(51)
https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/pwe/article/view/5672/5025
H. Mizerek, (2018) What evaluation do we need inside a school?, in: Leading and Managing for Development, R. Dorczak (ed.) Kraków: Jagiellonian University Institute of Public Affairs, pp. 14-23

Professor participated in the implementation of many research projects in cooperation with academic centers in Poland (Jagiellonian University) and abroad - especially in Denmark, Great Britain and Spain

Prof. Dariusz Wadowski – sociologist of culture, longtime member of the Polish Evaluation Society, lecturer at the Institute of Journalism and Management at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. He has carried out several dozen evaluation studies and conducted training courses in evaluation for state, local and private institutions as well as social organizations in the fields of education, culture, social economy and media.

Prof. Sylwia Jaskuła – Professor of the State University of Information Technology and Entrepreneurship in Łomża, member of PTE, author of numerous publications on evaluation, transformation and social challenges of education, the theory of intercultural space, network society, as well as information and communication competencies in the context of global and local changes in cultural identity. Animator of evaluation research in education and comparative analyzes of the information society in the conditions of the market and cultural changes, as well as research on new forms of the knowledge society.

Iwona Sobieraj (Ph.D.) - assistant professor at the Department of Sociological Sciences and Social Work at the University of Opole. She combines research interests in evaluation theory and methodology with practical activities for the quality of evaluation in education at various levels of education. She conducted training and tutoring in evaluation for secondary schools in the Śląskie Voivodeship for non-governmental organizations and local government institutions. In addition to the evaluation issues, she takes up topics related to ethnicity and multiculturalism, intergenerational transmission, and civic science. Author of scientific publications and an evaluation support program for schools. Member of the Polish Evaluation Society, Polish Sociological Society, and the Social, Cultural, and Educational Polonia-Kresy Association.

Prof. Krzysztof Szewior – habilitated doctor at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw, Department of European Union Politics. Member of the Polish Political Science Association and the Polish Evaluation Association, appointed to the Political Science Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences (2016-2019). Member of the Polish Accreditation Committee in 2008-2019. Scholarship holder of national and international foundations. Completed numerous scientific internships and study stays in foreign centers. Non-university activities focus on the accreditation and advisory field of higher education institutions, and research and teaching work - on social issues of the countries of the German language area and the European Union. Particular areas of research are higher education and social security in a comparative perspective of European countries.

Prof. Justyna Nowotniak - Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Szczecin. Areas of academic and research work include: hidden curricula in education and upbringing; conceptualization of the school culture, as well as the matters pertaining to the cultural reproduction and cultural change taking place (or being introduced) in education and socialization processes; qualitative research orientation in pedagogy (visual ethnography); the evaluation research and the studies on theoretical foundations and practical application of evaluation method: „Photoevaluation of the school’s social architecture” and its implementation. Member of the Polish Evaluation Society, Polish Research Educational Association.

Evaluation of the Sustainable Development Goals

MODERATOR: Weronika Felcis is a 2nd term Secretary General in IOCE, Member of Executive Committee of Evalpartners, Board Member of International Evaluation Academy and member of Judging Panel for World Evaluation Case Competition in 2020.
She is a lecturer at Latvian University. Former Polish Evaluation Society President, cooperated with all major evaluation companies in Poland as a freelancer and academic. In 2017 she completed her Permaculture Design Course and co-leads a permaculture homestead in Latvia. Deeply concerned with evaluators’ integrity and value added in times of Anthropocene, she writes her PhD about this topic. She advocates in the global evaluation community to form evaluation as a process that is interdisciplinary, transformative and supportive to civil societies.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

Sufficient scientific evidence shows that traumatic experiences of climate disasters – such as this year's fires in California, Greece, and Turkey, floods in Germany, China, and England, and heatwaves in Canada and Siberia – affect all continents; therefore, evaluation must help tackle far-reaching, complex and comprehensive policy decisions on energy, consumption, education, transport, etc. The latest IPCC report (AR6 from 2021) shows that immediate action is the only way to avoid worsening effects; the above-mentioned ones are just a foretaste.

Despite the IPCC reports showing that the temperature 1.5 higher than in pre-industrial times significantly disturbs the ecological processes on which our civilization relies, the current development model brings us closer to the temperature by four degrees higher [1]. Supposingly small denominations mean little, yet global warming of four degrees means the irretrievable loss of the wildlife and unpredictable weather, thus the loss of crops and our safety [2].

The Prague IDEAS Declaration on Evaluation for Transformational Change (2019) sets out the basic principles of professionalism of evaluators who, in recognition of the seriousness of planetary threats, should work in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. During the session, we will talk about the transdisciplinary knowledge that a modern evaluator should have and the scientific and political coalitions that we must build together. We will also show good practices of building sustainable public policies and continue by posing a moral question that future generations require of us now: What else should we do to bring humans to the safe operating space on the nexus of social and environmental systems in the following decades? Which limits of our current practices do we still have to cross, as challenged by the very title of 3rd Congress?

https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1eaHFKgj1YxmV2ETfCm7ap7beob-mUYB1&revid=0ByDXWRBxQ6uaYjhDYXFQcWJTMzdqdFlkamdGVXBhRFoxV0NrPQ

[1] For a global scenario with little or no mitigation action, as it is today.

[2] This is best demonstrated by this WWF report.

"Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates." 
― Vandana Shiva, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis

Participants

Asela Kalugampitiya - a Sri Lankan lawyer, currently the President of both Sri Lanka Evaluation Association and the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association. He is a holder of Master in Evaluation from Germany. Asela has been working in the Monitoring & Evaluation field over two decades. Asela was instrumental in launching and implementing the Asia Pacific Regional Evaluation Strategy under 8 themes including use of evaluation for SDGs. He is an Advisory Committee member of the International Programme on Development Evaluation Training (IPDET). He is the (honorary) Director- Center for Evaluation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a member of the teaching faculty of the Post Graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation course run by the same university.

Andrii Derkach - Public policy evaluation in Ukraine is in its infancy. This process goes along with numerous contradictions, as well as in other examples of innovations’ implementation in public administration, in particular, the limited legal framework, unclear legal norms, lack of practice in the use of these tools, superficial application, and so on. However, there are numerous achievements in here - the introduction of public terminology, the formation of annual reports, the involvement of non-governmental organizations and leading experts. Regional authorities play a special role in this tool application. The Laws of Ukraine “On the Principles of Regional Development State Policy” and the “Budget Code” created a need for the introduction of an evaluation tool in the practice of their activities. Having a certain organizational autonomy, local governments can initiate the development of evaluation in the process of analyzing the results of the decision as well as in its development. Taking into account that regional strategies and programs are one of the key tools in achieving the goals of sustainable development, the institutionalization of evaluation at the regional level is not just an opportunity but also a necessity. This report puts also in the picture this process features analysis.

Sylwia Słomiak – Sylwia Slomiak has 15 years of experience within international cooperation, working closely with municipal self-governments, ministries and the third sector. She has worked for the Swiss, UK and Australian government administrations within international programmes and policy, mainly in the climate and energy sector. She supports the European City Facility as Country Expert for Poland and cooperates closely with various international city networks. She is also advisor to the Board of the Association of the Wisloka River Basin Communes which brings together 22 municipalities from Southern Poland. Under the Swiss Enlargement Contribution, she supervised on the side of the Donor a portfolio of projects from the Environment and Infrastructure focus area worth in total 145 million Euro. Those focused on introduction of renewable energy, improvement of public transport and removal of hazardous waste, covering approx. 350 municipalities and over 70,000 households in economically underdeveloped regions. She is a member of the Polish Evaluation Society and a former member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers programme.

Trust and its lack in assessment and evaluation of systems

MODERATOR: Anna Kierzkowska-Tokarska - a graduate of the Faculty of German Studies and Slavic Studies at the University of Tübingen (Germany), Postgraduate Studies "Public Administration" at the University of Speyer (Germany) and Postgraduate Studies "Evaluation of projects and programs financed by the EU" - Institute of Applied Social Studies, Center of Research on Policy of Science and Higher Education, University of Warsaw. Anna is active at the interface between research, education, and the dissemination of their effects. Her professional specialization is the external evaluation of programs and projects. She collaborated with the Sobieski Institute, Centrum im. A. Smith, the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE), and the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). She is a member of the Polish Evaluation Society.

Selected areas of Anna's activities:
1) Quantitative and qualitative research of experts, Accreditation Program, Erasmus +, FRSE, 2021
2) Assessment of the results of the project "Civic Volunteering - Innovation in Action - social volunteering",
3) Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, FRSE, 2017
4) Assessment of the final reports of the "Transfer of Innovation" projects (including the Jagiellonian University) “Disability Awareness of Academic Teachers: Improvements through E-Learning”, 2014
5) Member of the research team in the project "Strengthening the system of counteracting financial irregularities and frauds in the distribution of EU funds at the regional level". Project co-financed by the European Commission (OLAF) / HERCULE II Program 2007-2013, 2011
6) Member of the research team in the project "Social monitoring of the implementation of EU funds under 16 Regional Operational Programs", Priority V. Good Government, Activity 5.4.2. Development of civic dialogue, Centrum of Adam Smith, 2010
7) Co-author of the publication on Regional Operational Programs "Transparent Structural Funds - monitoring of the distribution of EU funds at the regional level and promoting best practices and standards", Sobieski Institute, Warsaw 2009.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

The issue of trust, and the lack of it, has been a topic addressed by scholars and researchers for several years. Especially during the Covid-19 crisis, the issue of trust becomes very topical. Is trust always linked to the efficiency of complex systems, such as societies, organisations or states? Can the existing lack of trust in a part of the society be exchanged for trust in the institutions and systems at different levels, including democratic institutions, public institutions, government and local authorities?

The outbreak of the pandemic has verified the perception of processes around us, including the evaluation of political, economic and social decisions. In the panel planned during the Congress - we would like to discuss the question whether the evaluation of decisions made in the state, economic and social institutions is directly related to the trust linked with those organisation or systems? Is it the trust factor that plays an important role in society's assessment of their functioning? Are the societies guided in their assessment by objective indicators and true information about political, economic and social decisions, or do other factors[1] play a role, such as political views, education level, income, place of residence, etc.? We would like to present the results of the projects dedicated to the issue of Trust[2].

We also put some questions regarding the links between citizen science, the evaluation of complex systems and the factor trust as an important “influencer” in both fields. Citizen science is an emerging field where volunteer non-scientist participation in the research process is a key element. The issue of trust takes on double importance in the evaluation of citizen science projects. On the one hand, it refers to the relationship between scientists and volunteers as well as the reliability of the collected data and the knowledge derived from it. On the other hand, it is a question whether the development of citizen science can contribute to an increase in society's trust in science in general. Evaluation in citizen science projects addresses these important issues, but it is at the beginning of its development path. Currently, an evaluation framework is formed and various criteria are defined, but there is still a need to discuss the directions of evaluation in this area.

The aim of the panel is also to present, in an accessible way, conclusions which may be helpful in carrying out evaluation research in a reliable manner, not only by PTE members, but by all those interested in dependencies which are hidden on the borderline - between the object of the research and its external evaluation, with the aim of crossing these borders.

[1] e.g. about distrust and trust, CBOS (Public Opinion Research Center), newsletter on research no. 35/2018 

[2] e.g. TiGRE – Trust in Governance and Regulation in Europe (tigre-project.eu)

Participants

Prof. dr hab. Dominika Latusek- Jurczak – head of the Department of Management and the Center for Research on Trust. In her research work, she focuses on the study of management practices in inter-organizational relations, the theory of social networks and trust, and she conducts qualitative field research of organizations in Poland, Germany, and the Silicon Valley in the USA. Visiting scholar at the Institute for Research in Social Sciences Stanford University, a beneficiary of, inter alia, Fulbright Foundation (2007), winner of a scholarship for outstanding young scientists of the Minister of Science and Higher Education (2012), manager of projects financed by the European Commission, the National Science Center and the National Center for Research and Development. Member of the Organization and Management Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Young Scholars of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Iwona Sobieraj (Ph.D.) - assistant professor at the Department of Sociological Sciences and Social Work at the University of Opole. She combines research interests in evaluation theory and methodology with practical activities for the quality of evaluation in education at various levels of education. She conducted training and tutoring in evaluation for secondary schools in the Śląskie Voivodeship for non-governmental organizations and local government institutions. In addition to the evaluation issues, she takes up topics related to ethnicity and multiculturalism, intergenerational transmission, and civic science. Author of scientific publications and an evaluation support program for schools. Member of the Polish Evaluation Society, Polish Sociological Society, and the Social, Cultural, and Educational Polonia-Kresy Association.

Emerging Evaluators of Youth Employment

MODERATOR: Sławomir Nałęcz, Ph.D – Foundation for the Development of Local Democracy (FRDL)

PANEL DESCRIPTION

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary public policies and their evaluation is adapting them to diverse and changing social needs, while ensuring effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the planned effects. The answer is, on the one hand, the development of civic participation in the processes of creating, improving and implementing public policies, and on the other - evaluators try to include stakeholders in the evaluation process at all stages and conduct evaluation not only of national or regional policies and programs, but also to conduct evaluation for the use of entities operating locally. In order to cope with the latter demand, it is necessary to transfer appropriate knowledge and evaluation skills to people operating in local, small entities, usually non-governmental organizations.

In response to this last challenge, the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy, acting as part of the international consortium YOUTH IMPACT[1], conducted on-line trainings and workshops, as well as provided mentoring support for evaluation studies actually conducted by novice evaluators associated with the local organizations running youth employment /entrepreneurship projects.

The panelists will be young participants of the above mentioned mentoring program as well as two representatives of organizations that support novice evaluators.

The main aim of the panel will be to identify challenges faced by emerging evaluators as well as to present the solutions found to deal with them. Thanks to different perspectives and experience of the panellists we hope to get a rich picture of novice evaluations of local youth projects, including also the issue of COViD-19 effects.

[1] YOUTH IMPACT is supported by joint grant of Norway, Lichtenstein and Island. The project aims to develop evaluation capacities of in the area of small youth employment projects in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

Sawsan  Al-Zatari – EvalYouth MENA co-chair and former co-chair of EvalYouth's Global Mentoring Program (EY-GMP). She is an evaluation consultant with over 10 years of experience. As a consultant, she has worked with various stakeholders including UNDP, UNRWA, UNFPA, IIED, and others. As a volunteer, Sawsan is the EvalYouth MENA co-chair and was the former co-chair of EvalYouth's Global Mentoring Program. Sawsan has supported Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs) through various initiatives and trainings and continues to support YEEs to volunteer in the field of evaluation and kick start their evaluation careers.

Alena Lappo Voronetskaya - an evaluation specialist with over eight years of experience in evaluation and research, most recently for the OECD, the World Bank IEG, FAO’s Independent Office of Evaluation and IFAD. Alena is the Board Member of European Evaluation Society (EES) and the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE). She is also the leader of the EES group on young and emerging evaluators (EvalYouth’s chapter for Europe).

monika-bartosiewicz-niziolek

Monika Bartosiewicz-Niziołek – Independent evaluator, president of the Polish Evaluation Society, a member of NESE Advisory Board (Network for Evaluation Societies in Europe)
A graduate of Ph.D. studies at the School for Social Research of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Postgraduate Evaluation Studies at the University of Warsaw, and Train the Trainer at the NGO Trainers’ Association. She gained her first experience in conducting evaluations in the mid-1990s by participating in international projects. As the owner of Evaluation Research Lab, and then as an independent researcher, she evaluated more than 100 projects/programs in cooperation with public administration, universities, institutions, and NGOs, working mainly in the field of education and social policy. She also has experience in commissioning and supervising evaluation, along with providing consultancy in this area. She is an author of more than 20 publications on evaluation. Monika serves as the president, training coordinator, and trainer of the Polish Evaluation Society. She developed and conducted several dozen courses and workshops on evaluation (above 1.500 hours). She serves as a mentor/tutor, a member and a certified reviewee/reviewer of the European Evaluation Society (EES), and a member of the NESE Advisory Board (Network for Evaluation Societies in Europe). As a Council Member of the International Evaluation Academy, she has contributed to the Evaluation Training Working Group.

Początkujący ewaluatorzy/ki projektów wspierających zatrudnienie młodzieży
przedstawiciele/ki grupy objętej wsparciem mentoringowym w ramach projektu „Youth Impact”

Iza Gawęcka - Kulturoznawczyni, trenerka, facilitatorka. Autorka nagradzanego, młodzieżowego projektu „Okno na teatr”, koordynatorka projektów młodzieżowych. Pedagożka teatru specjalizująca się w metodzie Teatru Forum i etnodramaturgii.

Dominika Romejko - ewaluator projektów społecznych, autor raportów badawczych, współautor 3 innowacyjnych podręczników powstałych w ramach projektu „Ścieżki współpracy – wsparcie dla podmiotów wdrażających współpracę międzynarodową”: podręcznika dla pracodawców „Jak organizować wolontariat pracowniczy z uwzględnieniem aspektu budowania zespołu pracowniczego”, „Podręcznika dla wolontariuszy” oraz podręcznika „Integracja Socjalna”.

Bogusław Kosel – holds PhD in history, curator at the Regional branch of Podlasie Museum in Tykocin,  historian and animator of socio-cultural projects in North-Eastern Poland, implemented under government programs and Interreg VA Polska-Lithuania. This year he engaged in Evaluation Excellence Program within Youth Impact  administered by Fundacja Rozwoju Demokracji Lokalnej and financed by EEG and Norway  grants. Within the support  of this program he conducts evaluation of a project Joint youth employment initiative towards meeting the cross-border labor market needs.

Maja Ewa Musialik – sociologist, culture animator working at the Association Wspólnota Polska. 
This year she engaged in Evaluation Excellence Program within Youth Impact  administered by Fundacja Rozwoju Demokracji Lokalnej and financed by EEG and Norway  grants. Within the support  of this program she conducts evaluation of a project Joint youth employment initiative towards meeting the cross-border labor market needs.

Evaluation of Smart City

MODERATORKA: Magdalena Urbańska – PTE, TEMBOLab, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

PANEL DESCRIPTION

The smart city concept is a multifaceted approach to urban development, covering the areas of social, housing, natural enviroment, transport and city management. These aspects should be supported by information and communication technologies (ICT) while involving citizens and responding to their needs.

Smart cities are characterised by a competitive economy, smart mobility networks, sustainable use of natural resources (smart environment), high-quality social capital (smart people), high quality of life (smart living) as well smart public management (smart governance).

The "smart" approach allows cities to function in times of uncertainty and climate risk, which necessitate new solutions to ensure the quality of life for citizens. 

Globalization and technological progress also have a huge impact on urbanization processes. Cities collect more and more data (big data), improve their data processing skills and design new ways to use them. This undoubtedly favors the implementation of the smart city idea.

However, in addition to the many benefits of the smart city concept, there are also many limitations. Criticisms have been raised towards city managers that the emphasis is only on the technological and infrastructural spheres to the exclusion of the most important one, the social one. 

The current research is mainly aimed at analyzing the conceptual process, implementation methods and / or results of smart city projects that are developed in many cities. However, there is a lack of standardized measures and methodologies for evaluation, prioritizing, financing, implementing and managing smart city.

From this point of view, it seems to be crucial to introduce a systematic assessment of smart city development, which will provide significant knowledge and perhaps contribute to the correction of actions taken by cities.

Already in 2008, in line with the smart city concept, IBM suggested that smart city evaluation should cover seven dimensions, including people, business, management, transportation, communication, water and energy of a city. Yuan et al. (2014) proposed that the following principles should be applied in an integrated evaluation system of smart city concept: systematicity, fundamentality, humanism, innovation, and operability. The multifaceted nature of the issue requires further work and detailed discussion taking into account territorial specificities and local indicators. 

The discussion that will take place at the 3rd International Evaluation Congress may become a contribution to the creation of a framework for the evaluation of smart cities in Poland. In the group of experts representing various parties, we intend to discuss the issues of smart city evaluation in theoretical and practical dimensions using the example of the Visegrad Group, try to identify the challenges facing the evaluation of smart cities and indicate the possibilities and limitations of the application of smart city evaluation in the coming years.

Participants

Dr hab. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska, prof. PŚ - a researcher at the Silesian University of Technology, head of the Department of Economics and Computer Science. Her research interests focus on the issues of smart cities, urban and industrial economics. She is the author of over 300 publications in international and national journals and publishing houses. She actively works for the socio-economic environment with which she has implemented and carries out a number of initiatives and research projects.

Anna Borowczak, Ph.D. –  graduate of the Poznań University of Economics, PhD in Earth Sciences in the discipline of economic geography at the Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. She gained professional experience in the Implementing Authority for European Programmes in Warsaw and Wielkopolska's Representation to EU institutions in Brussels. In her professional work she undertook writing strategic documents and manuals. Many times she reviewed and evaluated programming and strategic documents. 

Her scientific interests include evaluation of regional development programs and spatial aspects of socio-economic development - she is an author and co-author of 12 publications in this field and a manager and contractor of National Science Center projects. Since 2008 she has participated in evaluation studies and expertises commissioned by Polish and European institutions managing aid funds. Recently, she has been mostly interested in R&D, innovations, entrepreneurship and e-services.

Bartosz Lendzion – EGO s.c.

Anna Dwurnik - Chief specialist in the Intelligent Sustainable Development Management Office - Smart City UM Kielce. She coordinates and co-creates digital solutions based on the Urban Geographical Information System, the purpose of which is the digitization and automation of the processes taking place in the Municipality of Kielce as well as development of the tools supporting social participation. 

Together with the team, she creates innovative solutions consisting in the integration of data from multiple systems, facilitating the implementation of local government tasks and increasing the availability of public services by providing e-services for residents.

She co-creates the portal of social participation "Idea Kielce" and Geoportal of city of Kielce.

Evaluation - beyond the assessment of actions in local governments

MODERATOR: Mirosław Warowicki, Ph.D. – Vice president of Polish Evaluation Society, social psychologist, PhD from the University of Warsaw. He has many years’ experience it the implementation of training, research, and evaluation projects for the public and private sector, and for non-governmental organizations in Poland and abroad (Europe, Asia and Africa). He has academic experience working at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw and at the University of Warmia and Mazury, and at the High School of Management in Olsztyn.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

In recent years monitoring and evaluation disseminated in a large part of local self-governments, as in other sectors, focus mainly on planned effects and the prospect of accountability, the extent to which planned effects were achieved in relation to the cost incurred. In particular, monitoring is often seen as a control tool rather than a tool that, when combined with evaluation, helps to improve decision making and policy implementation. The evaluation system that has developed around EU cohesion policy interventions has only partially or slightly contributed to the perception of the benefits that can be derived from going beyond performance measurement towards developmental evaluation, and democratic evaluation more generally.

 It seems that at least three tendencies can play a positive role in perceiving the benefits of democratic and developmental evaluation.  Firstly, the growing popularity in Europe and also in Poland of open government. According to the OECD report (2021)[1], Polish local self-governments increasingly take into account the principles of open governance, i.e. transparency, honesty, accountability and stakeholder involvement in various legal regulations and policies, including local development strategies. Secondly, the changes introduced to the act on the principles of development policy and to the amendment to the act on municipal self-government, approved in July and November 2020, encourage the construction of an integrated planning system. This system encourages for socio-economic and spatial development based on the experience gathered while developing the Local Development Strategy (LDS), and based on increased coordination of activities. Thirdly, the importance of  inclusive participatory processes to ensure that those affected by a planning decision have a role in the planning process and in concluding partnerships between municipalities in accordance with the principle promoted in the current edition of EU funds 2021-2027 - community led local development (CLLD).

The panel will discuss the benefits of participatory approach in democratic and developmental evaluation in local self-governments units, going beyond the assessment of whether and to what extent a given project, program or strategy has been implemented. So, what happens next with the evaluations carried out in local governments, how helpful are they in promoting the exchange of good practices and better knowledge management for evidence-based decision-making, in coordinating activities and in introducing developmental changes? To what extent do evaluations change the functioning of local governments?  In which areas, strategies and programmes are participatory, developmental evaluations particularly useful?  What are the good practices in this regard? To what extent can the democratic and developmental evaluation contribute to building a culture of open governance?

[1] Better Governance, Planning and Services in Local Self‑Governments in Poland. Report OECD, 2021.

Participants

Aneta Kowalewska – Deputy Mayor of Wyszków, responsible for education, social affairs, sport, culture, promotion, social and senior policy, as well as external cooperation and communication. Doctor of social sciences with a specialization in political science, in particular in the field of local government, researcher of local power elites, university teacher. A long-time journalist of local media, specialist in political marketing, PR, territorial marketing, and personal branding. Mediator specializing in family, school and administrative mediation.

Michał Guć - Deputy Mayor of Gdynia for Innovation Issues A civil engineer with a degree in economics. In Gdynia he is responsible for innovation and social issues. On behalf of the Mayor of Gdynia he promotes cooperation with the non-governmental sector. He was an initiator of the first in Poland local senior citizens policy. He supervises, among others, programmes concerning revitalisation, social participation and organisation of local communities, as well as Social Innovations Laboratory.

Marcin Bazylak – Mayor of Dąbrowa Górnicza. He has been working in the local government for 15 years, where he was responsible for NGOs assistance and the development of civic government among others. He has been working to establish participatory budgeting in Dąbrowa Górnicza as well as developing the standards for participatory budgeting in Poland. Marcin Bazylak does not like the word “Me”, he prefers “Us” and that is why he supports the idea of dialogue and cooperation within the local government. 

Marcin Wojdat - Deputy director of the Office of Polish Metropolises. Sociologist, social activist and local government worker. He worked at the Foundation for Social and Economic Initiatives and the Centre for Non-Governmental Organizations. In the years 2006-2016 he was the plenipotentiary of the presidents of Warsaw Lech Kaczyński and Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz for cooperation with non-governmental organizations. He was also the director of the Social Communication Centre - an organizational unit of the Municipal Office of the Capital City of Warsaw  − responsible  for social consultations, research  and dialogue with residents. In the years 2013-2021 he was the secretary of the Capital City of  Warsaw.

Jakub Wygnański – Stocznia Foundation President,  sociologist, civil society activist. In the 1980s, an activist of Solidarity and Citizens' Committees, participant of the Round Table talks. Cofounder among others  of  Forum on Non-Governmental Initiatives Association  and The Database of Non-Governmental Organizations Klon/Jawor. He has been working  among others with Polish Humanitarian Action, The Stefan Batory Foundation and The Foundation for Social and Economic Initiatives (FISE).

Dr Krzysztof Piróg – holds a Ph.D. in sociology, assistant professor at the Institute of Sociological Sciences of the University of Rzeszów. Head of the Department of Sociology of Organization and Regional Development. He conducts research, among others, in the field of media representation, media pluralism, media content, city sociology, regional development, evaluation of public policies, and attitude studies. He participated in the implementation of several dozen research projects. He runs a research company in the field of social research and evaluation. Member of the Management Board of PTE in 2014-2015, and in the current term of office.