NCJ Number
51455
Journal
EVALUATION Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (1978) Pages: 36-40
Date Published
1978
Length
5 pages
Annotation
THE PROCEEDINGS OF A GATHERING OF EVALUATION PROFESSIONALS CONCERNED WITH THE APPLICATION OF EVALUATION RESEARCH IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF PLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE ARE SUMMARIZED.
Abstract
THE THEME OF THE MEETING WAS THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF A CULTURE OF PLANNED CHANGE. PARTICIPANTS, WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE NETWORK OF CONSULTANTS ON KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER, PRESENTED THEIR RECENT WORK, ASSESSED CURRENT STATES-OF-THE-ART, DISCUSSED THEORETICAL, TECHNICAL, AND CULTURE-BUILDING IMPLICATIONS OF PLANNED CHANGE AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER ACTIVITIES, AND DEVELOPED A CONTEXT IN WHICH TO CARRY FORTH THE NETWORK'S ACTIVITIES. ISSUES RAISED IN DISCUSSIONS ON KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER THEORY AND TECHNIQUES ARE SUMMARIZED. THE PARTICIPANTS' EXPLORATION OF WAYS TO ENHANCE THE MEANING AND COHESIVENESS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF EVALUATORS, RESEARCHERS, KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER SPECIALISTS, AND CHANGE AGENTS IS NOTED. PRIORITIES FOR DEFINING A 'PLANNED CHANGE CULTURE'--LEGITIMIZING THE FIELD OF PLANNED CHANGE, ESTABLISHING THE INTERDISCIPLINARY IDENTITY OF THAT FIELD AND PUBLICIZING PLANNED CHANGE AS A DISCIPLINE, RECOGNIZING THAT PLANNED CHANGE MUST BE A PLURALISTIC ENTERPRISE, MAKING EXPLICIT CERTAIN VALUES AND STANDARDS (BEING OPEN ABOUT IDEOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BIASES, TOLERATING A VARIETY OF METHODOLOGIES), FACILITATING EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND IDEAS WITHIN THE FIELD OF PLANNED CHANGE--ARE NOTED. ABSTRACTS OF PRESENTATIONS BY 20 NETWORK MEMBERS ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)