Participação na avaliação de políticas públicas: A pesquisa construtivista e a quarta geração de avaliação

In a context where new impulses are needed for public policy evaluation studies, the objective of this essay is to conceptually, as well as methodologically, delineate Guba and Lincoln’s fourth generation of evaluation (1989). The fourth generation evaluation is a methodology that aims at the dialogue and participation of the actors involved in a given policy. The methodology has epistemological and methodological implications that allow evaluations of public policies from the constructions of those who are directly or indirectly affected by public actions. It is a method that allows active voice and privileges citizen participation in the evaluation of social policies. Our argument throughout the paper is that adopting constructivist principles and the fourth generation of public policy evaluation allows the public manager to cast new perspectives from the field, constituting a consistent way of studying social phenomena with a wealth of information and social participation.