When it comes to disengagement, deradicalisation and resocialisation efforts – also known as ‘exit work’ – the expectations of the programmes are high and costs per trajectory are considerable. Evaluating these programmes is indispensable in order to arrive at a stronger evidence-based or empirical foundation for exit programmes.
Different stakeholders with varying perspectives and roles are involved: practitioners implementing the programmes along with their organisations, policy-makers or (local) authorities as funders of the programme and researchers as (external) evaluators. The challenge lies in aligning trust, demands, time and work flows and creating a common language for the purpose of evaluation.
This means evaluation must be included in the project design and should involve all relevant stakeholders throughout the entire project. Defining a shared Theory of Change and a common objective are beneficial to aligning stakeholders’ expectations. Read more