How can evaluation support transdisciplinary research and projects in realising their full potential? In our view, evaluation is far more than just a final, quantitative assessment of project outcomes – it is a key tool for continuously reflecting on processes, strengthening collaboration and fostering shared learning.
Within the Build4People project, the team from Otto-von-Guericke University Madgeburg, represented by Dr. Anke Blöbaum and Neele Worthmann, therefore supports our implementation process not only through a summative evaluation but also through a formative process evaluation. In other words: We focus not only on the implementation of our developed products but also on the quality of collaboration, communication and coordination within our international and interdisciplinary team.
Particularly in transdisciplinary projects, where different specialist disciplines, cultures and perspectives come together, such an ongoing evaluation lays the groundwork for recognising challenges at an early stage, identifying weaknesses in internal communication, jointly developing structures and adjusting as the project progresses, thereby providing sustainable support for the project’s success and implementation. Examining one’s own structures and internal communication is not merely a pleasant exercise; it requires additional effort from all project members beyond their normal project work, the openness to address one’s own mistakes, trust in project partners, and the flexibility to deviate from established plans in order to support the achievement of the shared project goal.
To provide targeted support for these development processes, Otto-von-Guericke University Madgeburg regularly carries out standardised quantitative surveys on key aspects of internal project collaboration – both before and after joint project activities. All in all, the survey consisted of 36 closed and three open questions. The insights gained were then reflected upon within the team and served as a valuable basis for the continuous development of working methods, communication structures and cooperation processes.
We are looking forward to taking this process further; it is an important learning experience for the whole Build4People team and contributes to understanding how evaluation, as a tool for learning and development, can support transdisciplinary research and sustainable transformation.
Build4People would like to sincerely thank Dr. Anke Blöbaum and Neele Worthmann for their dedicated efforts to prepare and to conduct the survey, to summarize and to visualize the empirical and finally, to organize the joint internal reflection meetings.
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