Reenchanting evaluation : relationality and the role of place in reclaiming neglected values in evaluation

Bertram, Rachel Elizabeth

Reenchanting evaluation : relationality and the role of place in reclaiming neglected values in evaluation

Bertram, Rachel Elizabeth

Permalink

Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2024

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download thesisAdobe PDF (2.54 MB)

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Bertram, Rachel Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned	2025-09-25T04:57:48Z
dc.date.available	2025-09-25T04:57:48Z
dc.date.issued	2024
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190095
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Business.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	Social impact frameworks provide insight into the society we aspire to create—so the values captured in them matter. This thesis examines the role of values in evaluation within a reenchanted relational paradigm, critiquing dominant economically driven notions of success and advocating for renewed engagement with the values-led approaches popularised in the 1990s. Drawing on the theoretical lens of reenchantment, this study investigated how these neglected values can be re-centred to foster more holistic and meaningful evaluative practices. This research adopted a relationally responsive standpoint applied to a two-phased mixed-methods study of community gardening programs in the Greater Sydney Region examined how neglected values could be re-centred in evaluative practices. Phase One involved geospatial mapping, and Phase Two focused on two community gardens using semi-participatory, qualitative dialogue-based methods. Specific attention was placed on semi-participatory and qualitative dialogue-based methods. Thematic and contemplative analysis practices were used to illuminate themes, and collaborative methods were adopted to ensure participant knowledge was authentically captured. Analysis revealed a societal imbalance in which values essential to human flourishing are overshadowed and lost to neoliberal influences. Participant insights call for social impact evaluation—and society more broadly—to engage in a remembering, reconnection, and reenchantment of community values through place. These values manifest in a vision for community where nature is an active participant in change, relationship is paramount, and balance is requisite. Findings reinforce the value of relational practice in unearthing community-aligned aspirations. The study offers insight into place-based success metrics, advocating for a reenchanted approach to evaluation—one that transcends conventional methods to honour the complex, place-based values embedded in urban landscapes. It positions this reenchanted relational evaluation paradigm as a reconnective and transformative practice capable of illuminating what matters most to communities.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/190095/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2024 Rachel Elizabeth Bertram
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Reenchanting evaluation : relationality and the role of place in reclaiming neglected values in evaluation	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

Social impact frameworks provide insight into the society we aspire to create—so the values captured in them matter. This thesis examines the role of values in evaluation within a reenchanted relational paradigm, critiquing dominant economically driven notions of success and advocating for renewed engagement with the values-led approaches popularised in the 1990s. Drawing on the theoretical lens of reenchantment, this study investigated how these neglected values can be re-centred to foster more holistic and meaningful evaluative practices. This research adopted a relationally responsive standpoint applied to a two-phased mixed-methods study of community gardening programs in the Greater Sydney Region examined how neglected values could be re-centred in evaluative practices. Phase One involved geospatial mapping, and Phase Two focused on two community gardens using semi-participatory, qualitative dialogue-based methods. Specific attention was placed on semi-participatory and qualitative dialogue-based methods. Thematic and contemplative analysis practices were used to illuminate themes, and collaborative methods were adopted to ensure participant knowledge was authentically captured. Analysis revealed a societal imbalance in which values essential to human flourishing are overshadowed and lost to neoliberal influences. Participant insights call for social impact evaluation—and society more broadly—to engage in a remembering, reconnection, and reenchantment of community values through place. These values manifest in a vision for community where nature is an active participant in change, relationship is paramount, and balance is requisite. Findings reinforce the value of relational practice in unearthing community-aligned aspirations. The study offers insight into place-based success metrics, advocating for a reenchanted approach to evaluation—one that transcends conventional methods to honour the complex, place-based values embedded in urban landscapes. It positions this reenchanted relational evaluation paradigm as a reconnective and transformative practice capable of illuminating what matters most to communities.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190095