In the Name of Efficency: The Evaluation of European Development Policy: A Ritual of Conformity

This article deals with the institutionalisation of a service in charge of evaluation within an organisation (DG DEV of the European Commission) which had for a long time been opposed to the very idea of efficiency. It analyses the political and organisational stakes behind this service and its practices. Our hypothesis is that, due to strong resistance on the part of officials in DG DEVCO and EU delegations, these practices are akin to a ritual of conformity to the norms of efficiency which have become dominant on the agenda of donors.