Evaluating the success of national schools of government

This chapter outlines and explores different approaches that schools of government use as ways to assess whether they are effectively maintaining and enhancing the quality of public administration education and training. The evaluation of learning activities has attracted increased attention in recent years in the context of reduced resources. The evaluation approaches aim at meeting citizens’ need to ensure that learning and development programmes are delivering value for money and have a positive impact upon public service delivery. An understanding of the political, social and economic contextual factors that shape educational programmes and their potential for producing desired outcomes is viewed as essential in assessing quality. The chapter looks into alternatives to current evaluation approaches.