The results presented in this report are based upon an evaluation of the "Social project in Leningrad County". The project fan between 1998-2001 and was carried out by the social services in Sörmland County and Leningrad County, with financial support from Sida (Swedish International Development Coop- eration Agency). The overarching goal of the project was to provide support and direction in the development of social services in Russia. The project involved 160 social workers from Leningrad County who look part in a professionai development edu- cation program in Sweden. The program functioned as a support for local social service projects in Leningrad County. The goal of the evaluation was to exarnine the program of education and the manner in which participants used their acquired knowledge and experiences in their own projects.

Ove Karlsson Vestman is a professor at Mälardalen University, in the Division of Social- and Behavioral Sciences. He is also the director of The Mälardalen Evaluation Academy - MEA; a multidisciplinary research environment on evaluation theory and practice.