The field of radicalization prevention is fast-moving: constantly changing phenomena, extremist currents and target groups also require changes in the prevention actors and their professionalization. If quality assurance measures or evaluations are carried out in these dynamic and complex structures, classic summative or formative evaluations no longer work.
Against this background, researchers in the PrEval Project worked together with practitioners from the beRATen e.V. counseling center, which has been doing prevention work in the field of Islamism with a focus on (Neo-)Salafism since 2014. Together, they tested an evaluative approach based on the principles of so-called Developmental Evaluation. At the heart of this approach is the monitoring of developmental and innovation processes of projects, which provides for a cooperative partnership between the project implementers and the evaluators. Developmental evaluation focuses on the developmental role of evaluations, but has not yet been applied in Germany in the field of radicalization prevention.
The first case study in this field, which has now been published, documents the cooperation between researchers and practitioners and thus contributes to applied knowledge about the evaluation of secondary and tertiary radicalization prevention projects.
Further information on the project “PrEval – Evaluation Designs for Prevention Measures” at preval.hsfk.de (in German).