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The experimental evaluation of social innovations—The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the potential benefits to be derived from the experimental evaluation of social innovations and ameliorative programs. It is argued that the experimental method has shown remarkable flexibility as it has been adapted to satisfy the needs of different disciplines and to the evolution within single disciplines such as psychology. The basic features of experimental research are illuminated and their critical role is illustrated by discussing a recently introduced Belgian governmental program for reducing unemployment. How the experimental introduction of social innovation can be implemented is shown by two different examples: a large scale American project (The New Jersey Negative Income Tax Experiment) and a small scale Belgian project to study the effects of programming variables on children’s attention for educational television (Sesame street research project). Finally three important contributions of the experimental psychologist for the evaluation of social programs are proposed. He can offer expertise in the field of experimental design and the related statistical techniques. His skills in measurement and test construction can be important for the construction of measures of subjective well-being or subjective social indicators. Thirdly, especially the experimental social psychologist can contribute his experience and knowledge about the psychology of research in general and experimental research in particular.
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How to Cite: Mervielde, I. & De Soete, G. (1980) “Experimentele evaluatie van maatschappelijke innovaties”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen. 25(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.94769