Abstract
This paper considers potentials and issues, promoting and hindering factors, and roles of civic organizations in introducing participatory evaluation to civil society under the assumption that participatory evaluation is an effective means of active citizen involvement in civil society in Japan. Major indicative findings are as follows: 1) the application of participatory evaluation can promote collaborative relationships between civic organizations and other major actors, and has merit for citizens, for example, with respect to access to information, empowerment, and awareness-raising; 2) legitimacy is an important factor for promoting the introduction of participatory evaluation in civil society; and 3) civic organizations are expected to establish systems to support citizen participation in evaluation. Key issues for future consideration are as follows: 1) the establishment of participatory evaluation criteria, indicators and guidelines focusing on the ways of collaboration among major actors is considered to be useful for its actual application; and 2) the development of the voluntary/civic sector built upon citizens' further understanding of the missions and roles of civic organizations is key to establishing a balance among the three sectors in achieving the development of civil society, and to citizen participation in decision making in the management of civil society.
