Problems of transferring knowledge on the example of recommendations from evaluation of European Funds in Poland

This article presents the conditions of creating a system for implementing recommendations from evaluation studies which were conducted within the cohesion policy in Poland. The purpose of this analysis was to identify main problems and barriers related to the transformation of evaluation studies into practical recommendations, and to identify factors affecting the adoption and implementation of recommendations by recipients and stakeholders of evaluation. Conclusions were based on the desk research of such documents as: guidelines and procedures for the implementation of evaluation, evaluation and meta-evaluation reports, recommendation and implementation tables. The main barriers and factors favouring the transfer of knowledge from evaluation research to management practices in public administration and local governments were pointed out. The most common restrictions on use of evaluation results include: weak participation of stakeholders in the process of study planning; inconsistency between the subject of evaluation and the scope and content of recommendations; low level of knowledge of the nature and objectives of evaluation among decision-makers; lack of feedback regarding the implementation of recommendations for evaluators. The article gives reasons for the relationship among such features of the evaluation process as: openness, participation and communication skills, quality of recommendations. Evaluation studies and their social significance were shown from the perspective of dividing Michael Burawoy's sociological work into policy and public sociology.