The Emergent Evaluator: Reframing the Murky Middle Between Emerging and Expert Evaluators’ Identities

The language we use to describe professional identity in evaluation matters. Prevailing discourse relies on a developmental binary (‘emerging’ versus ‘expert’) that assumes a linear trajectory of competence over time. Yet many practitioners inhabit an under-theorised ‘murky middle’: no longer ‘emerging’, not comfortably ‘experts’, and working across contexts where capability is situational and negotiated. Drawing on complexity and systems thinking, this paper proposes an alternative: the Emergent Evaluator. Rather than a career stage, the Emergent Evaluator is a practice orientation in which identity and competence are treated as dynamic, relational and context-dependent, arising as emergent properties of the evaluator’s interactions with people, organisations, and systems. The article reviews limitations of linear developmental framings and synthesises insights from complex adaptive systems and emergence to reconceptualise evaluator identity. It defines the Emergent Evaluator, outlines core attributes, and explores implications for capability frameworks, professional development, organisational evaluation cultures, and professional associations. It concludes with implications and future directions for embedding an explicit emergent practice orientation across evaluation sectors.