In these economically straitened times, it is essential that a thorough critical evaluation of projects is undertaken to justify their continued existence and funding. Nowhere is this more relevant than the area of sustainable development. The subtitle of this book Theory, Practice and Quality Assurance gives a clear outline of its compass. This well-structured book is a worthwhile addition to the growing literature in this area, comprising a series of chapters covering a wide gamut of relevant material. The book was developed as part of a German-funded European wide research project – Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Development (EPOS). It constitutes the core of a conference held to promote key aspects of the project.

The book is structured into five useful sections. The first deals with the Perception of Sustainability Problems, followed by a section, which presents contributions on Evaluation and Assessment studies related to Policy Formulation. The third part is dedicated to Policy Implementation in different areas. This is followed by a section on Policy Reformulation and covers monitoring and quality improvement schemes. The fifth and final part covers the area of the Quality of Evaluations.

This thought-provoking and wide-ranging handbook covers a very wide range of multidisciplinary approaches to sustainable development and is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of those working in this area, whether they be evaluators, researchers, students or indeed the policy makers themselves.