The contents presented in this book come from the collaboration between Toscana Region and Fondazione Zancan that during the last few years have looked at the solutions to promote the culture and the practice of outcome evaluation in human services. As described in the contributions, the field of observation is wide. In other countries, this represents the main focus of political and scientific debate. In this sense it is necessary to know, compare and share experiences in order to choose the most appropriate solutions.
For this reason, the seminar organised in Florence, 10th September 2004, at the Istituto degli Innocenti, on "Outcome evaluation in child and family services: learning from experiences" was a precious occasion of discussion. The picture is encouraging since it documents not only the value of comparison between experiences and cultures in different countries, but also it provides a chance to collaborate and to develop shared strategies.
In the next few years, outcome evaluation will become more and more important for many subjects, given the need for participation and evaluation involving professionals and human services on a daily basis.
As a consequence, we should not wait but instead invest in order to narrow the gap penalizing the outcome evaluation and those believing in its strategic, ethical and social importance.