Evaluation in Norway: A 25-year assessment

Abstract

This article analyses the Norwegian government’s evaluation practice over the 25-year period 1994–2018. Evaluations are mandatory for governmental ministries and agencies in Norway, and the government conducts about 100 evaluations annually. This article utilises data from a unique database to describe the development in the evaluation industry, focusing on the volume of evaluations, the most active commissioners and providers of evaluations, and the types of evaluations conducted. First, the analysis indicates that the volume of evaluations peaked around 2010 and has since decreased. As a possible consequence, less policy relevant information may therefore be publicly available than before. Second, ministries have commissioned relatively fewer evaluations in the last decade than in the years before, and executive agencies commissioned relatively more. Third, consultants’ share of evaluations has risen, and research institutes’ share of evaluations has fallen.