Evaluation of training in local government

Abstract

Reports on a study of the evaluation strategies of trainers in London local government made in 1989‐91. The study was unusual in focusing on trainers as policy implementers in a context of organizational learning and bureaucratic behaviour. Trainers′ evaluation practice, their views on evaluation, their reasons for evaluating and their perceptions of the problems and advantages were elicited through survey and interview. The analysis of strategies of evaluation formed the basis for the construction of a typology of trainers. Most trainers undertook only minimal evaluation. The types were: uneasy ritualists, incrementalists, pilot strategists and innovators; but the most significant category of policy achiever was missing. Examines the implications of this typology for trainers, managers and staff, and for the implementation of policy. Finally, advocates the crucial attributes of the policy achiever model.