Evaluation of nonmetallic thermal protection materials for the manned space shuttle. Volume 1, task 1: Assessment of technical risks associated with utilization of nonmetallic thermal protection system

Technical problems of design and flight qualification of the proposed classes of surface insulation materials and leading edge materials were reviewed. A screening test plan, a preliminary design data test plan and a design data test plan were outlined. This program defined the apparent critical differences between the surface insulators and the leading edge materials, structuring specialized screening test plans for each of these two classes of materials. Unique testing techniques were shown to be important in evaluating the structural interaction aspects of the surface insulators and a separate task was defined to validate the test plan. In addition, a compilation was made of available information on proposed material (including metallic TPS), previous shuttle programs, pertinent test procedures, and other national programs of merit. This material was collected and summarized in an informally structured workbook

The politicisation of evaluation: constructing and contesting EU policy performance

Although systematic policy evaluation has been conducted for decades and has been growing strongly within the European Union (EU) institutions and in the member states, it remains largely underexplored in political science literatures. Extant work in political science and public policy typically focuses on elements such as agenda setting, policy shaping, decision making, or implementation rather than evaluation. Although individual pieces of research on evaluation in the EU have started to emerge, most often regarding policy “effectiveness” (one criterion among many in evaluation), a more structured approach is currently missing. This special issue aims to address this gap in political science by focusing on four key focal points: evaluation institutions (including rules and cultures), evaluation actors and interests (including competencies, power, roles and tasks), evaluation design (including research methods and theories, and their impact on policy design and legislation), and finally, evaluation purpose and use (including the relationships between discourse and scientific evidence, political attitudes and strategic use). The special issue considers how each of these elements contributes to an evolving governance system in the EU, where evaluation is playing an increasingly important role in decision making

Switzerland

Evaluation in Switzerland is well established, with diverse institutions and practices that have progressed strongly since the 1990s. The level of evaluation activity is constantly high, educational and training programmes are in place, the Swiss Evaluation Society SEVAL is highly committed, and Swiss scholars contribute regularly to the international debate. While this is remarkable in many respects, evaluation in Switzerland still shows significant weaknesses, of which two are particularly important: First, how evaluations are designed remains very heterogeneous in the country. Second, efforts to professionalise evaluation in Switzerland have to be viewed with scepticism. There are still numerous evaluations, carried out by laypersons, which contain grave weaknesses. In trying to counteract, the evaluation community has adopted a strategy of bureaucratic routinisation and closing off the market. This ignores that for evaluation to continue to flourish, it absolutely needs to involve a lively exchange between practitioners and social scientific research