User Participation in Quality Assessment: A Dialogue and Learning Oriented Evaluation Method

In recent years the Nordic countries have required user participation in many assessments within the social, health care and education sectors. The article presents a method—User Participation in Quality Assessment (the UPQA method)—which attempts to implement the requirement for user participation in assessment through a dialogue oriented interaction between actors in the field and between the field and the evaluator. The basis for the UPQA method is bottom-up action learning and exploratory evaluation. The purpose of the UPQA method is, through a process oriented assessment, to contribute to organizational learning in the setting being assessed. Through organizational learning the practice field is helped to understand what promotes/hinders the implementation of user needs and requirements. The purpose is to establish a basis for assessing and preparing for change in the organization and to carry out a bottom-up oriented institutional analysis. The article firstly reviews the theoretical understanding of the social problems which form the background for the development of the method. It is argued that the users should define the evaluation questions. From the users' point of view the purpose of evaluation is to initiate organizational learning by challenging the institutional order in the context being evaluated. In the light of a previous theoretical discussion of the concepts of institutional order and organizational learning, the UPQA method is then elaborated. Finally, the method is located within broader scientific theory.