Problem definition in program planning and evaluation is rarely problematized. In this article, I discuss why the lack of problem problematization is itself problematic—in other words, why treating problems as self-evident can pose a risk for evaluation practice. Then, to help avoid such risks, I suggest Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach as a useful tool to focus evaluative thinking on the frequently tacit step of problem definition. Bacchi’s approach, informed by feminist and poststructuralist epistemologies, is designed to facilitate critical interrogation of policies and programs, focusing on the social and value-laden ways in which problems are initially defined. I propose that evaluators can fruitfully use Bacchi’s tool to promote evaluative thinking about the assumptions that inhere problem representation and thus can help promote better evaluation.

中文翻译：

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代表的问题是什么？问题定义批判作为评估思维的工具

项目规划和评估中的问题定义很少被问题化。在本文中，我将讨论为什么缺乏问题问题化本身就是有问题的——换句话说，为什么将问题视为不言而喻的做法会给评估实践带来风险。然后，为了帮助避免此类风险，我建议卡罗尔·巴基 (Carol Bacchi) 的“代表的问题是什么？” 方法作为一种有用的工具，可以将评估思维集中在问题定义的经常默认步骤上。Bacchi 的方法受女权主义和后结构主义认识论的启发，旨在促进对政策和计划的批判性审问，重点关注最初定义问题的社会和价值承载方式。