Pragmatic ex-ante evaluation using an innovative conceptual framework: The case of a high-tech entrepreneurship program for women

Program designers at local project level usually design interventions under conditions of scarce resources and bounded rationality lacking sufficient information about the process and impact mechanisms of the complex social programs they design and implement. This paper proposes a model for pragmati...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Striebing, Clemens, Kalpazidou Schmidt, Evanthia, Palmen, Rachel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repositorio:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/151835
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10609/151835
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101714
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ex-ante evaluation
research and innovation
women entrepreneurs
women start- ups
women start-ups
evaluation framework
Descripción
Sumario:Program designers at local project level usually design interventions under conditions of scarce resources and bounded rationality lacking sufficient information about the process and impact mechanisms of the complex social programs they design and implement. This paper proposes a model for pragmatic ex ante evaluation using an innovative conceptual framework for practitioners working in the field to improve gender equality in research and innovation. The presented and applied model is pertinent to the theory-oriented evaluation tradition using a logic frame and a theory of change approach adapted to the special requirements of ex-ante evaluation. The model is illu- strated by the case study of a program for the promotion of women entrepreneurship in the STEM fields. It is concluded that in a setting with limited resources and information, ex-ante evaluations should aim at defining clear conditions of proportionality and need to take into account the extent to which contextual factors hinder or facilitate the implementation of a program, and the specific institutional and system mechanisms at play, in order to enable proactive risk management from the beginning.