ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we shall attempt to explore the position of evaluation in the structure of a community development project. There is an urgency surrounding this subject as there are conflicting issues at stake. We shall show that the control and resourcing of this aspect of intervention is too strongly bounded by the values and expectations of those in positions of power - sponsors/donors and employers, and not under the control of the professionals with field accountability. This leaves them vulnerable, and it begs the question of the real position of the 'customers' or consumers in the equation. Midgley points to the mixed outcomes of economic and social progress over the recent decades. He highlights the 'distortion' of development that has taken place. This 'distortion' refers to the emergence of 'grinding poverty' for some sectors of the population, while other sections experience affluence and expectations of even higher standards of living. Communities (particularly the inner cities) are devastated in physical and social terms through low investment, and the rise in crime, unemployment and social deprivation (Midgley, 1995).
