PrEval Studie 4/2025

Wirkungs­horizonte von Evaluationen: Zum Uptake von Evaluationen der Extremismus­prävention

Marion Lempp

For a long time, evaluation in the field of extremism prevention was primarily understood as a control instrument – with limited benefits for professional development. Based on ten evaluations of secondary and tertiary prevention, this report shows that their impact depends less on the results themselves than on whether genuine uptake is achieved: in other words, the active adoption, acceptance, and further use of evaluation findings by practitioners, policymakers, and institutions.
The analysis makes it clear that without trusting cooperation, transparent communication of scientific interests, and institutionalized interfaces, evaluations remain mere transfer—reports, recommendations, filing. Only when evaluation results are translated into structures, attitudes, and routines can transformation succeed.
The author therefore advocates an evaluation culture that systematically enables uptake processes: with clearly defined roles, continuous feedback, and participatory formats—beyond the conclusion of the evaluation. Only then will evaluations not only assess, but also become a driver of quality development and organizational learning.

Marion Lempp is a childhood and social education specialist. Her academic work focuses on the evaluation of preventive approaches in the field of extremism. She is currently working as a freelancer, providing academic support for the implementation of the evaluation results of the Islamism Exit Program (API) in North Rhine-Westphalia. Other areas of focus in her work include the design and quality assurance of educational measures, including as part of a teaching assignment at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigsburg.