Unraveling the complexities of learning in community development evaluation

In this article, we critically explore the pedagogical implications of evaluation in the community development sector, with a focus on opportunities for enhancing learning through evaluation in community contexts. We begin by situating learning as foundational to evaluation, whether individually or in collaboration with others, and through reflection, dialogue, critical thinking, or practice. We then shift to a discussion of community development and related principles of practice, followed by a focus on evaluation and associated challenges in community contexts. Throughout, we interweave concerns with neoliberalism as a key aspect of the evaluative state, documenting effects on the pedagogical potential of evaluation. In the final part of the article, the authors shift to the possibility of providing critique as a way to resist neoliberal discourses and empower communities to develop what they believe are necessary and more realistic alternative discourses of evaluation.