ABSTRACT
Evaluation culture is considered as a part of the political system and consists of specific institutions, values and practices. This chapter examines the Swiss political system and multiculturalism, and their influence on evaluation culture. Multiculturalism here means the policy and the polity which guarantee the right for regions to maintain their own culture. The chapter determines whether multiculturalism, characterized by the existence of two main linguistic regions, has influ-enced institutionalization and practices of evaluation. It finds that multiculturalism has no influence on institutionalization. The power-sharing and consensus-seeking culture in Switzerland has its origins in the construction of a federalist system during the modern period. The Swiss federalist system works, but not perfectly. In terms of consensus-seeking, the government and its administration organize numerous consultations among stakeholders but these consultations are a matter of politics. This means that political consultations can be opportunist and sporadic because they respond to the political interest.
