What does this research mean for the field?

In the MENA region, formal evaluation governance structures decouple from substantive practice, as political institutionalization is necessary but insufficient, and professionalization has near-zero correlation with actual evaluation practice. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To identify which institutional conditions are necessary or sufficient for substantive evaluation practice and to explain why formal governance structures decouple from operational reality.

August 23, 2026Evaluation Review

Hollow by Design: Why Evaluation Systems Decouple in the MENA Region

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

ABAnis Ben Brik

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Qualitative comparative analysis reveals institutional decoupling in regional evaluation governance, indicating that formal political and professional structures fail to ensure substantive practice.

Key Points

To identify which institutional conditions are necessary or sufficient for substantive evaluation practice and to explain why formal governance structures decouple from operational reality.
Applied fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) across 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tested four institutional conditions: political institutionalisation, political use, social system development, and professionalisation against substantive evaluation practice.
Political institutionalisation met the necessity threshold for substantive practice but fell short of sufficiency, confirming structural decoupling.
Professionalisation displayed a near-zero correlation with substantive practice, demonstrating professional hollowness where formal apparatus exists without practice.
No single condition and no two-condition conjunction reached the sufficiency threshold for substantive evaluation practice.

Cite This Study

Anis Ben Brik (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aae337677a3411444708c https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841x261479461

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

August 23, 2026Evaluation Review

Hollow by Design: Why Evaluation Systems Decouple in the MENA Region

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

ABAnis Ben Brik

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Qualitative comparative analysis reveals institutional decoupling in regional evaluation governance, indicating that formal political and professional structures fail to ensure substantive practice.

Key Points

To identify which institutional conditions are necessary or sufficient for substantive evaluation practice and to explain why formal governance structures decouple from operational reality.
Applied fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) across 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tested four institutional conditions: political institutionalisation, political use, social system development, and professionalisation against substantive evaluation practice.
Political institutionalisation met the necessity threshold for substantive practice but fell short of sufficiency, confirming structural decoupling.
Professionalisation displayed a near-zero correlation with substantive practice, demonstrating professional hollowness where formal apparatus exists without practice.
No single condition and no two-condition conjunction reached the sufficiency threshold for substantive evaluation practice.

Cite This Study

Anis Ben Brik (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aae337677a3411444708c https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841x261479461

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark