Co-reflection: Establishment of Evaluation-Based Learning Cultures

In the process of reflecting on urban development the responsible officials and parties involved see themselves exposed to an “evaluation boom.” There seems to be no obvious way around evaluations in urban development that take the form of method-guided reflection on decisions and their consequences. It no longer seems to be a question of whether we evaluate, but how we evaluate. This proliferation of evaluation projects is often explained by the fact that evaluations should enable learning processes (cf. Wilhelm 2012, p. 20; Rolfes 2007, p. 75 ff.). This is not surprising, since for years there has been increasing interest in evaluations at the highest political level. For example, the German government is also giving greater priority to evaluation and set out in 2019 to further develop the existing evaluation concept for legislative projects and to develop corresponding working aids for ministries and subordinate authorities. According to this concept, both the effects and achievement of objectives are to be analyzed and opportunities to be created for learning and optimization (cf. Deutscher Bundestag 2020, pp. 17 and 70). “Evaluations should enable learning and improvement and thus [provide] an evidence-based foundation for possible further development and adaptation […] of regulatory projects” (Deutscher Bundestag 2020, p. 70).