The UK Evaluation Society (UKES) was founded in 1994 and is the principal professional organisation for evaluation of social policy and programmes in the UK.UKES is listed under major professional organizations in a highly cited text on evaluation by Peter H. Rossi, Mark W. Lipsey, Howard E Freeman (2003). Evaluation: A Systematic Approach (7th edition). SAGE Publications. It is a member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences. Its president is Dr Kirstine Szifris (December 2023 until November 2026) and Executive Director is Nick Posford. UKES was registered as a charity on 27 November 2024.
Activities Developed a Manifesto for Evaluation, coinciding with the 2024 United Kingdom general election. Organises an annual conference, which in 2023 was sponsored by RSM UK and Kantar Public (now Verian). In 2023, keynote speakers were Emily Gates (Boston College), Kelly Beaver MBE (Ipsos), Urvashi Parashar (Department for Culture, Media and Sport), and Nigel Ball (Social Purpose Lab) at University of the Arts London). Develops guidance for conducting evaluations, for example Guidelines for Good Practice in Evaluation (revised 2018)UK Evaluation Society (2018). Guidelines for Good Practice in Evaluation. and Quality of Evidence Rubrics for Single Cases (2023).UK Evaluation Society (2023). Quality of Evidence Rubrics for Single Cases. Offers training course on evaluation, which are recommended by the UK government for civil servants.Evaluation Task Force and Modernisation and Reform (2022, July 4), Evaluation training courses Provides peer review for the UK government Magenta Book, the HM Treasury guidance on key considerations when conducting evaluations of public policies and programmes, which was last updated 2020.HM Treasury (2020). The Magenta Book. Also acts as a specialist network, which government draws on when developing evaluation approaches.Department for Business and Trade (2023). Driving our performance: DBT’s monitoring and evaluation strategy 2023 to 2026 (web version). Publishes a journal, Evaluative Practice.Evaluative Practice (formerly known as The Evaluator). Offers prizes, in 2023 for Data Analytics in Evaluation; impact and efforts of Early Career Evaluators; and novel and Innovative Methods. The prizes were sponsored by RSM UK and Ipsos UK.
Membership The most recent membership figures (up to June 2022) are presented in the table below.
+ UKES membership figures 26 May 2020 26 May 2021 22 June 2022 Individual members 117 183 206 Student members 1 14 13 Institutional members (org) 22 33 40 Total number of members 247 642 930
External links UKES official website
References