In recent months, in the context of public presentations, Equilibrium’s chairman, David Bisset, has been explaining the circumstances that provoked him to write a book about impact-based assessment of services for children and families.
This is, therefore, an abbreviated version of a far larger manuscript that contains detailed exploration of the subjects that are framed briefly in the following pages.
Our mission – expressed briefly – is to provoke a paradigm shift in monitoring and evaluation so that these exercises no longer focus on fault-finding involving pedantic reference to the minutiae of regulatory documents.
We focus on positivity and success orientation. We emphasize the right of skilled professionals to make autonomous decisions rooted in their own practical wisdom and analysis of the situations in which they find themselves. Guidelines can never be sufficiently comprehensive for the vagaries of real life. There is no universal formula.
We are grateful for the opportunity created by generous funding from the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme.
We hugely appreciate the support provided by the Open Society Club – Ruse that has enabled the smooth implementation of the project.
At different times and in different ways we have received inspirational support from a number of very positive people. We have drawn from a diversity of positive literature and, more especially, positive experience shared with professionals working in Bulgaria’s centres of social support. Thank you all.
This publication derives from actions undertaken within the project – „ External / Self -evaluation in Childcare & Family-Support Services as a Means of Capacity-building” (Reg. No. CSP – 032).