Empowerment evaluation advocated by David. M Fetterman is the use of evaluation concepts and techniques to foster transformation and self-determination. In this article, applicability and issues of empowerment evaluation is investigated through case study on empowerment evaluation of community program for health promotion in Tokyo. It provides an opportunity for a group of participants to empower themselves through evaluation activities as well as to internalize self-evaluation mechanism for continuous improvement in the related organization. Major roles of evaluators include facilitator, trainer of evaluation know-how and even direct advocate to help the group be empowered. Empowerment evaluation appears most appropriate when the program itself has agenda of empowerment and social transformation. The mixed use of empowerment evaluation and conventional evaluations would make it possible to implement value-pluralistic evaluations. The accumulation of experiences of empowerment evaluation in Japan is expected for further testing and adjustment of its theory and methodology.

View full abstract

This paper considered how to evaluate international cooperation on climate change. Firstly, an evaluation framework was established by the interdisciplinary review from the political, legal and economic dimensions of social science in environment policy. This is the framework that consisted of elements about the international cooperation systematically. Secondly, this paper examined the effectiveness and subjects of the established evaluation framework. By using this framework, the case-study showed the evaluation result and policy subjects of Japan's international cooperation. The result of this case-study could verify the effectiveness of the framework, because international cooperation was able to be evaluated synthetically. One subject is to increase the number of case-study, and the other is to change the components of the framework. This paper could propose the qualitative framework as the evaluation method of international cooperation on climate change by materializing two methodological strong points of environmental policy, which are interdisciplinarity and synthesis.

View full abstract