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Saggi

No. 95 (2026)

Evaluative Facilitation in Participatory Approaches

  • Walter Antonio Canu
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/Riv2026oa23357
Submitted
luglio 24, 2026
Published
2026-09-21

Abstract

Group facilitation is increasingly used within participatory approaches to social research and program evaluation, particularly in qualitative and mixed-methods designs. However, its methodological role across the different stages of the evaluation process remains under-theorized. Drawing on the literature on utilization-focused evaluation and participatory approaches, this paper distinguishes between ethical and utilitarian-methodological perspectives on participation and proposes an original typology based on the intersection of four evaluation stages and five facilitative purposes, with particular attention, in pragmatic terms, to the functions of meaning-making and sense-making. The proposed framework identifies group facilitation as a cross-cutting methodological resource capable of strengthening both stakeholder participation and the use of evaluation findings.

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