Working Groups

In addition to the working groups, ad hoc groups discuss current issues in the field of evaluation. Currently, the following ad hoc groups have been established:

• In their work, the working groups share the objectives of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society as set out in its statutes.
• In particular, the working groups endeavor to establish the DeGEval - Evaluation Society as a relevant player in the respective fields represented by the working groups in order to contribute to sustainably strengthening the principles represented by the DeGEval - Evaluation Society in the field of evaluation in various evaluation fields.

• DeGEval - Evaluation Society establishes and pursues its goals and tasks on the basis of the activities of its working groups. These form the central interface between overarching and field-specific evaluation issues and therefore make a significant contribution to the transfer and exchange of information between different areas of evaluation.
• The present guidelines, which are jointly supported by the working groups and the board of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society, are intended to contribute to the consolidation and development of existing and future working groups.
• The working groups disseminate the products of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society and try to interest relevant actors from their respective evaluation fields in the DeGEval - Evaluation Society and win them as members.
• The working groups organize one or two workshops at the annual conference of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society, which, if possible, refer to the overarching topics of the annual conferences from a field-specific perspective. The organization of workshops in cooperation with other working groups is welcome.
• If possible, the working groups organize their own spring conferences (possibly also in cooperation with other working groups), in which field-specific content or organizational issues are discussed. The spring conferences can also serve as preparation for the workshops at the annual conferences of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society.
• As part of the annual conference, the working groups offer meetings that primarily serve the internal organization as well as the opening for interested parties. In addition, all working groups present themselves with a poster showing objectives, topics, activities, opportunities for participation and contact persons. These meetings and the posters are obligatory and a fixed program element of the annual conferences.
• The working groups report regularly to the board of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society on their work (meetings of the working groups, results of the meetings, dates, etc.). An annual report is prepared by each working group for the Board's report at the General Assembly. In order to ensure a continuous flow of information with the office, the working groups include the office in the respective working group distribution list, via which invitations, minutes etc. are sent to the participants in the working group.
• The working groups are responsible for managing their own pages on the DeGEval - Evaluation Society website. They endeavor to keep the information up to date and thus contribute to a successful external presentation of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society. The office is available to provide support in this regard.
• The working groups should inform the members of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society about their activities in the form of regular short reports in the DeGEval...Mails and more detailed articles in the DeGEval...News (at least once a year).
• The texts of the working groups are published under the designation 'AK [designation] in DeGEval - Evaluation Society'. The responsibility for these texts lies with the named authors. The planned publication must be brought to the attention of the Board in advance. A free specimen copy must be sent to the Board after publication.

• Participation in working groups is not necessarily linked to membership of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society. Nevertheless, the working groups should work towards ensuring that members of the working group also become members of DeGEval - Evaluation Society.
• The working groups largely determine their own form of work and organization. This means that any further subdivision, e.g. into subordinate committees, is the sole responsibility of the working group.
• Each working group elects a spokesperson and a deputy spokesperson for a term of office of two years. Re-election is generally possible. The members of the working group, as well as the DeGEval - Evaluation Society office, must be informed of upcoming elections in good time.
• The spokesperson is responsible for the organization of the respective working group (workshops and working group meetings at the annual conferences, spring conferences, contributions to DeGEval...Mails and DeGEval...News, etc.) and is the contact person for the board of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society.

• The Board of DeGEval - Evaluation Society supports the interests of the working groups and endeavors to maintain a regular exchange with them. In order to ensure direct communication between the working groups and the Board, a member of the Board is appointed as the direct contact person for each working group. The aim is to support the working groups, e.g. in recruiting key figures for the activities of a working group.
• Once a year, the Board invites the spokespersons to a joint meeting at which fundamental issues relating to the working groups are discussed and information is provided on current developments and plans. The working group spokespersons are expected to attend these meetings or, if they are unable to attend, to be represented by their deputy or another member of the working group nominated by them.
• The DeGEval - Evaluation Society Board and office are prepared to support the working groups in their broad public relations work and in informing DeGEval members about the work of the working group. To this end, the working group spokespersons get in touch with the office or the respective contact person to express concrete ideas about the type of support they would like to receive.
• Upon request to the office, the working groups receive information material and products from DeGEval - Evaluation Society, which can be used to recruit new members, among other things.
• To support their work, each working group is entitled to a sum of money announced by the Board, e.g. for postage, travel expenses for an external speaker, etc., on presentation of appropriate receipts. The funds cannot be accumulated over several years.
• Depending on the budget situation of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society, a separate budget is available to the working groups for the organization of workshops within the framework of the annual conferences. The amount of this budget is determined by the Board in good time before the annual conference and communicated to the working groups.

• The establishment of new working groups and the continuation of existing ones should help to ensure that the DeGEval - Evaluation Society is present in relevant fields of evaluation and helps to initiate new developments in the field of evaluation. With a view to the organization of other evaluation societies, DeGEval - Evaluation Society is increasingly seeking to establish working groups that deal with cross-cutting evaluation topics (education and training, evaluation theories and methods) in addition to the established field-specific working groups.
• The establishment of new working groups is generally the responsibility of the General Assembly. For the establishment of a new working group, a thematic proposal must be submitted to the Board, in which the need for such a new working group to be established and potential interested parties are named. The proposal will be discussed together with the Board; if the result is positive, a member of the Board will be appointed as a contact person to support and accompany the further process.
• An expression of interest is sent out via the DeGEval... Mail in order to spread the intention of founding a new working group and to identify other interested parties.
• The possible objectives of the working group are discussed and defined (mission statement) in a preliminary meeting of all persons interested in founding the working group and, if applicable, the contact person of the Board. In this context, a list of people who are interested in founding this working group and who are also willing to get involved in the working group should be drawn up.
• On the basis of this list and the mission statement, the Board decides how to proceed, i.e. whether the establishment of a working group or an Ad Hoc Group seems more appropriate. Provided that a sufficient number of interested parties are found and the thematic profile of the working group corresponds to the development goals of DeGEval - Evaluation Society, the provisional establishment of the working group for an initial period of one year can be voted on at the next general meeting and a first inaugural meeting of the working group can take place. During that year, the working group will operate as a "working group in formation".
• After three quarters of a year, a report on the activities of the working group in formation over the past year must be submitted to the Executive Board, with particular reference to the development, size and composition of the working group and the expected potential. On this basis, the General Assembly can establish the working group upon request.
• The development of evaluation in recent years shows a high degree of differentiation of new evaluation fields and questions. DeGEval - Evaluation Society takes this process into account by regularly reflecting on its internal structure. This also includes discussing the experiences of the working groups and their development processes with regard to the social framework conditions in this field of evaluation. In order to meet the standards for evaluation internally as well, DeGEval - Evaluation Society aims in the longer term to subject the working groups to a review process every five years on the basis of a summary report. This process will be initiated and coordinated by the Board of the DeGEval - Evaluation Society. The results of the evaluation should highlight the strengths, challenges and possible deficits of the work of the working groups. In the subsequent reflection process with the Board, future goals and development paths will be defined. The subject of this reflection may also be that working groups are dissolved or reconstituted in a different form.

(Status: 03.12.2007)