Professionalization and evaluation: A European analysis in the digital era

It is expected that the number of evaluators will continue to grow in the near future. However, the heterogeneity of different national contexts makes the consolidation of a consistent ‘jurisdiction’ for the professional evaluator rather problematic. This article contributes to the debate on the professionalization of evaluators by looking at practices attributed, competences and skills required by employers, and the main topics addressed by the community of evaluators. The authors draw on various sources – ISCO08 (International Standard Classification of Occupation); ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations); job offers posted on the EES (European Evaluation Society) website; EES LinkedIn group – to argue that the practice of evaluation has achieved a supranational dimension, with potential consequences both on evaluators’ educational profile and on the ways in which evaluations are commissioned and conducted.