Elliot Stern

Dr Elliot Stern is Professor of Evaluation Research at Lancaster University and is the current editor of Evaluation: the international journal of theory, research and practice. He was for many years a Director of the Tavistock Institute. He was founding president of the UK Evaluation Society and a past president of the European Evaluation Society.

He has undertaken research, evaluation and advisory studies across a range of sectors: technology and innovation; international development; education and vocational training; and public health.

Elliot divides his time between independent consulting, professional development and education with evaluators, and writing and dissemination. He spoke in Wellington, New Zealand in February 2009 on the link between evaluation and policy development.

He chairs the European Policy Evaluation Consortium (EPEC) which provides evaluation services to the European Commission through a Framework Contract to DG Budget. Elliot has undertaken a series of assignments related to international development including internal reviews for World Bank Executive Board of Directors.

Between 2002-2005 he undertook evaluation capacity building activities with UNESCO’s HIV/AIDS programmes in Brazil (in partnership with the World Bank). He was ‘start-up’ President (2003-2005) of the Board of Trustees of the International Organisation for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) – an umbrella organisation that brings together evaluation societies, associations and networks worldwide.

He chaired a panel (2004-2006) for the Collaborative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and FAO coordinating a study of the contribution of CGIAR Centre training and learning activities to agricultural research capacity and poverty alleviation in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Near East. In 2008-2009 he was the Team Leader for the Thematic Study on Aid Effectiveness and Development Results as part of the preparation for the evaluation (Phase Two) of the Paris Declaration. He is currently advising the Brazilian government (Office of the Presidency) on a multi-agency evaluation of Brazil’s illegal drugs policies.

He has undertaken evaluation assignments for the UK Cabinet Office (designing evaluation strategies for Civil Service Reforms), the Welsh Assembly (member of Quinquennium Review team for the Welsh Language Board), the Scottish Executive (planning and evaluation designs for local government improvement programmes with the University of Cardiff).

He headed up the consortium undertaking the evaluation of Healthy Living Centres (a major national UK public health initiative). He is also a founding Academician of the UK Academy of Social Sciencesand a member of that organisation.