ABSTRACT
Before examining the question of evaluation of action learning, it is important to be clear about what is claimed as individual and organisational benefits. At the level of the individual, action learning claims to provide real opportunities for personal growth and learning. Set members face real issues and problems which they own and are committed to make real progress on them. They, therefore, need to reflect on how their actions, personal style, values and motivations make an impact on others. Action learning deals with problems where double-loop learning is essential. The set member may experience insight into their own behaviour or the culture of their organisation that stimulates action which was not predictable prior to the set being created. There is a need to distinguish between two different types of evaluation: formative and summative. Formative is concerned with steering and improving action learning while it is happening, and summative is concerned with assessing the impact or contribution of action learning.
