Позитивные изменения, Том 3 №1, 2023. Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 1 (2023)

Expert assessment is generally used when the social results of a project cannot be measured, for whatever reason. It is most commonly used by donor organizations to assess project applications. Expert assessment is a judgment about the value of a project, about how good it is. When conducting an expert assessment, the client makes a list of criteria – the properties that a project must have, and the experts must answer how well the proposed project meets these criteria, based on the description provided in the project application and their own knowledge and experience. For example, if donors to the “Girls on the Soccer Field” project were to make a decision about funding based on expert assessment, they could use criteria such as whether the project is consistent with the strategy, whether the project is effective (able to achieve the expected results), whether the project is economically viable (uses the cheapest way to achieve the expected results) or there are more cost-effective options.

Since achieving the expected results is the main expectation of the project, the expert assessment can focus on a detailed analysis of the expected chains of changes. In this case, experts are presented with a detailed map of changes prepared by the project authors and are asked to assess the feasibility of all the links between the results, so any possible gaps can be found.

For example, when planning the “Girls on the Soccer Field” project, its authors might have planned the following chain of changes:

• Girls who, prior to the project, thought that soccer was a boys-only game take a full training course at the Academy (five days, three hours a day);

• As a result, they successfully learn the basic skills of the game;

• The girls successfully apply the new skills in practice games;

• The girls get satisfaction and enjoyment from the game;

• The girls understand that the idea that only boys are capable of playing soccer was false;

• Getting rid of one of the gender stereotypes helps girls see that gender equality is indeed possible.

During the project evaluation, the experts will need to answer how likely it is that completing one step in the chain will result in a successful implementation of the next step. For example, if the girls take a full course of training at the Academy (15 hours), what is the likelihood that they will learn the basic skills of the game?

CONCLUSION

Global experience shows that projects implemented in the sphere of physical culture and popular sports can create both significant positive social changes and negative effects. The study created a classification of these effects, which will help organizations implementing and supporting social sport projects to identify and evaluate them. The use of different types of assessment enables identification and measurement of the changes created at all stages of the project, which, in turn, helps to manage the change process better. In addition, the assessment is important to justify the amount of funding and the choice of strategic development areas, which is especially relevant in the current context, when all social initiatives can no longer count on the previous level of support from budgetary and non-budgetary sources.

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