The Power of Commissioning: Enabling Democratic Evaluation (Comparative Policy Evaluation)

Far more than a contractual step, commissioning shapes what is evaluated, whose voices matter, and how evidence informs democratic governance.The Power of Commissioning: Enabling Democratic Evaluation brings long overdue attention to this influential yet often overlooked dimension of evaluation practice. Positioning commissioners as civic and political actors, the book shows how their choices, from problem framing and terms of reference to team selection, management, and use, can either reinforce technocratic routines or actively promote inclusion, transparency, equity, and meaningful public learning.Drawing on comparative empirical cases, it offers one of the first integrated frameworks for democratic commissioning, complete with practical principles, rubrics, and clear “dos and don’ts” that commissioners can apply directly in real systems.The volume also advances a pioneering competency model for commissioners and documents innovative capacity-building initiatives that treat them as