Implementing evaluations in organizations that provide social protection programs

In the last years changes in Slovenian social protection have mostly tended to rationalize services and assure better cost efficiency. Those changes includes the implementation of a model for the self-evaluation of social... [ view full abstract ]

In the last years changes in Slovenian social protection have mostly tended to rationalize services and assure better cost efficiency. Those changes includes the implementation of a model for the self-evaluation of social protection programs. It was introduced into organizations that provide social protection programs based on an initiative of the Slovenian Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Affairs. Researchers from Social Protection Institute along with researchers from the Faculty for Social Work prepared and implemented the model of self-evaluation within a project called »Oblikovanje sistema evalviranja programov socialnega varstva«.
Qualitative research involving the triangulation of methods was conducted. Research identified problems and strategies for overcoming those problems that have emerged as the model has been implemented. Cooperation and support among similar programs evolved into the provision of mutual help. Application of the model has aggravated pre-existing problems in organizations and led to the appearance of new, model-related problems. Altogether, this has created resistance to putting the model into practice.
Employees’ perceived the model as an innovation that came ‘from the outside’ and that it holds little value for their work. It was also perceived as a ‘top down’ innovation since the Ministry (the financer and overseer) initiated the model’s creation and implementation. Participation in the creation of the innovation itself does not ensure that practitioners will consider it useful for their work, especially if it was initiated outside the organization. The model was perceived as useful only in organizations in which the leadership used the gathered data and took advantage of the benefits of the innovation. Researchers played the role of innovation managers and tried to overcome the practitioners’ and leaderships’ resistance to innovation. Organizations reported that they obtained the most useful help from colleagues in similar programs. Individual – program-focused – help from the researchers was highly appreciated.