In the run-up to the 2020 European Evaluation Society (EES), it is a great pleasure to be able to introduce this Special Issue of the journal Evaluation which brings together a selection of papers from the previous EES conference, held in Thessaloniki in 2018 (www.ees2018.eu). The theme of the 2018 conference was Evaluation for More Resilient Societies. The articles brought together in this issue relate to this subject in various innovative and thought-provoking ways. Evaluation is both a practice that engages with policy making, public management and democratic accountability; and a field of research, analysis and theory-building. Both traditions draw on and also enrich the social, policy and economic sciences. Evaluators are at the forefront of developments in ‘complexity capable’ methods that are increasingly taken up by the policy research community. This issue explores topics such as sectoral and industrial transformation, managing the consequences of climate change, and how we value care and caring – topics that are of interest well beyond the world of evaluation. The issue also deepens our insight into some of the greatest challenges that evaluators face: How our practice should change when confronted by the complexity and turbulence of the contemporary world. The 2018 EES conference set a number of records for the EES. The conference received 780 abstracts and brought together evaluation practitioners, scholars, and evaluation commissioners from more than 76 countries, who collectively participated in over 700 conference presentations, 22 pre-conference professional development workshops, and innumerable hallway conversations about anything and everything related to evaluation. This issue while centred on Thessaloniki contributions is also a bridge between EES conferences: it revisits inputs from the European Commission in Maastricht 2016; and anticipates topics such as the challenge of climate change that will feature prominently in EES 2020 in Copenhagen on the theme of Evaluation in an Uncertain World: Complexity, legitimacy and ethics (www. ees2020eu). The small number of conference presentations nominated for Special Issues published after EES conference undergo in-depth peer-reviewing and further development following a conference. We therefore encourage those who attended the Thessaloniki conference and who heard earlier versions of articles appearing in this issue, to persevere: the content of this Special Issue may still surprise you! The contributions to this Special Issue highlight many of the contemporary preoccupations of the evaluation community. Three themes stand out: ethics and values in the profession of evaluation; how to evaluate complex, transformational change; and accountability, learning and reflexive practice. Nor is any one article theme-specific: they are woven into the issue 916882 EVI0010.1177/1356389020916882EvaluationPresidents’ introduction editorial2020

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欧洲评估协会主席对特刊的介绍

在 2020 年欧洲评估协会 (EES) 的筹备阶段，很高兴能够介绍本期《评估》杂志的特刊，其中汇集了 2018 年在塞萨洛尼基举行的上一次 EES 会议的精选论文（www.ees2018.eu）。2018 年会议的主题是评估更具弹性的社会。本期汇集的文章以各种创新和发人深省的方式与这个主题相关。评估既是一种涉及政策制定、公共管理和民主问责的实践；以及研究、分析和理论构建的领域。这两种传统都借鉴并丰富了社会、政策和经济科学。评估人员处于政策研究界越来越多地采用的“复杂性”方法发展的最前沿。本期探讨了诸如部门和工业转型、管理气候变化的后果以及我们如何重视关怀和关怀等主题——这些话题远远超出了评估领域。这个问题也加深了我们对评估人员面临的一些最大挑战的洞察：当我们面对当今世界的复杂性和动荡时，我们的实践应该如何改变。2018 年 EES 会议为 EES 创造了多项记录。会议收到了780篇摘要，汇集了来自76多个国家的评估从业者、学者和评估专员，他们共同参与了700多场会议报告，22 场会前专业发展研讨会，以及无数与评估相关的任何事情的走廊对话。这个问题虽然以塞萨洛尼基的贡献为中心，但也是 EES 会议之间的桥梁：它重新审视了 2016 年马斯特里赫特欧盟委员会的投入；并预计气候变化挑战等主题将在哥本哈根举行的 EES 2020 上以“不确定世界中的评估：复杂性、合法性和道德”（www.ees2020eu）为主题。在 EES 会议后发表的少数被提名为特刊的会议报告经过深入的同行评审和会议后的进一步发展。因此，我们鼓励那些参加了塞萨洛尼基会议并听说过本期文章早期版本的人，坚持下去：本期特刊的内容可能还是会让你惊喜的！对本特刊的贡献突出了评估界的许多当代关注。突出的三个主题：评价专业的道德和价值观；如何评估复杂的转型变化；和问责制、学习和反思性实践。也没有任何一篇文章针对特定主题：它们被编入本期 916882 EVI0010.1177/1356389020916882EvaluationPresidents' Introduction editorial2020 学习和反思性练习。也没有任何一篇文章针对特定主题：它们被编入本期 916882 EVI0010.1177/1356389020916882EvaluationPresidents' Introduction editorial2020 学习和反思性练习。也没有任何一篇文章针对特定主题：它们被编入本期 916882 EVI0010.1177/1356389020916882EvaluationPresidents' Introduction editorial2020