P/CVE Evaluation in European Comparison: How and Why do Evaluation Systems Differ Across Europe?

Lotta Rahlf’s doc­toral project syste­matically compares how evaluations of efforts to prevent and counter violent extre­mism (P/CVE) are structu­rally organised across Europe. By mapping various ‘P/CVE evaluation systems’ and exami­ning factors that may explain their differences, her disser­tation draws attention to the variety of ways countries orga­nise the generation of evaluative know­ledge to respond to increasing demands for evidence-based P/CVE measures. Filling crucial theo­retical and empirical gaps in P/CVE research, Rahlf parti­cularly examines the levers that make P/CVE evaluation sys­tems more centralised in some countries and more decen­tralised in others. This means that her disser­tation explores why P/CVE evaluations are strongly controlled by the govern­ment in some contexts while such activities are more distri­buted among several entities, including civil society, in others. After a com­parative mapping of evaluation manage­ment in the P/CVE field in Europe, she will use qualitative compa­rative analysis (QCA) to analyse which factors have an influence on certain designs of such eva­luation systems. Based on the results, Rahlf will then select three countries to analyse their respec­tive evaluation systems in depth. This disser­tation, which is part of the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD network VORTEX, also has a high prac­tical relevance as it enables P/CVE practi­tioners and policy makers to learn from other European con­texts.