The evaluation of HRD: a critical study with applications

Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to analyze critically the most important methods that are used in the evaluation of human resource development (HRD). Design/methodology/approach ‐ The approach is to ask two questions: What are the methods available to define the impact of HRD in the economy? How can we evaluate the evaluations that have been made? Findings ‐ There are two main perspectives to evaluate any program, by results (counting occurrences) and by impacts (calculating the differences the investment made in the society). The first type of method does not find the impact of the program, the second type does. Research limitations/implications ‐ The analysis is limited by existing studies on HRD. The implications are that the conditions that underline the existence of HRD programs define the type of evaluation that is used. Originality/value ‐ The results of this paper put the evaluation problem in a new perspective. It explains the difference between methodologies (results and impacts) and scientific fields used (public administration, social policy, HRD, KM, IC, microeconomics, HR economics) by the type of person responsible: public administrator, private manager, HRD expert, knowledge manager, IC expert, microeconomist. The differences between the applications of those methodologies based on the type of funding ‐ private, public, external ‐ are also explained.