Power of Commissioning

Far more than a contractual step, commissioning shapes what is evaluated, whose voices matter, and how evidence informs democratic governance. The Power of Commissioning: Enabling Democratic Evaluation brings long overdue attention to this influential yet often overlooked dimension of evaluation practice.

Positioning commissioners as civic and political actors, the book shows how their choices, from problem framing and terms of reference to team selection, management, and use, can either reinforce technocratic routines or actively promote inclusion, transparency, equity, and meaningful public learning. Drawing on comparative empirical cases, it offers one of the first integrated frameworks for democratic commissioning, complete with practical principles, rubrics, and clear “dos and don’ts” that commissioners can apply directly in real systems. The volume also advances a pioneering competency model for commissioners and documents innovative capacity‑building initiatives that treat them as knowledge brokers and democratic agents, an area largely absent from existing evaluation guidance.

Featuring contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, The Power of Commissioning provides both conceptual depth and actionable tools. It is an essential resource for researchers, policymakers, evaluators, and commissioning professionals committed to strengthening democratic practice through evaluation.

Nicoletta Stame retired as Professor of Social Policy at “Sapienza” University of Rome. She is a past president of the Italian Evaluation Association and of the European Evaluation Society and associate editor of Evaluation. Nicoletta is interested in the theory and methods of evaluation, on which has published widely in Italian and international journals and edited books.

María Bustelo is a professor of political science and public administration at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), where she has directed the Master on evaluation since 2002. She is an EES past president (2012-2013) and an Executive Board member of the Spanish Evaluation National Agency (AEVAL) (2007-2012). She specializes in evaluation, gender, and institutionalization.