Can evaluation be both independent and useful? WHO and OECD say yes

Policy evaluation keeps running into the same fight: should it mainly prove performance for accountability, or help people learn and improve policy? WHO and OECD say that is a false choice; the goal is both^[1][2].

WHO says evaluation should be conducted as systematically and impartially as possible, with principles like independence, utility, quality, transparency, and credibility. OECD similarly calls for evaluation to be independent, transparent, and accountable^[3][4].

The balance starts with governance: WHO gives distinct roles to the Evaluation Commissioner, Evaluation Manager, and Evaluation Management Group, while OECD calls for clear responsibilities and a sound institutional set-up^[5][6][7].

Then make findings usable. WHO asks for wide dissemination and a management response with actions for each recommendation. OECD says results must be used, fed back into the policy cycle, and linked to decision-making and budget processes^[8][9][10].