Markets are still the most successful form to satisfy needs effectively and efficiently for the benefit of all participants in market transactions. However, markets only function well if

• all market participants have perfect information about the market
• the needs concerned are short-term
• there are few negative externalities (side-effects) of the transactions for third parties

Thus, participants in inter- as well as intra-organizational markets increasingly struggle with transactions involving long-term, knowledge-intensive goods and services with considerable externalities. Examples are

• derivative financial instruments
• educational services
• mission statements and corporate vision
• new and untested pharmaceutical products
• policies
• programmes to support research, development and innovation
• strategic investments
• strategies

To provide sufficient control structures for such goods and services that markets themselves do not assure, the instrument of evaluation has been developed in recent years. Synonymous terms are

• assessment
• monitoring
• rating
• review

Our core competences are the evaluation of

• doctoral programmes, such as the Marie Curie Research Training Networks
• innovation and R&D-projects
• mission statements and corporate visions
• programmes for the support of research, development and innovation, such as the Framework Programmes of the European Union
• strategic investments
• strategies

We apply the state-of-the-art in evaluation methodologies, especially with reference to the

• European Evaluation Society
• United Nations Evaluation Group

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