I recently attended an online seminar on navigating ethics processes in the conduct of research and evaluations by the Australian Evaluation Society in Victoria. This helpful presentation and discussion help me decide to incorporate a new standard practise. Moving forward, I will provide clients with a Statement of Ethical Considerations with each project or proposal I develop that highlights ethical concerns, risks and mitigations.
I am locating my standard practise in the terrific work done in the Australian Evaluation Society on the Guidelines for the Ethical Conduct of Evaluations. The guideline provides a clear and useful framework for how evaluators can ensure they uphold the highest standards of ethics in their practise. It can be downloaded here.
The guidelines emphasize the importance of conducting evaluations with integrity, respect, and responsibility, while also striving for fairness, quality, and independence. Evaluations should be conducted in ways that show respect for people where everyone involved is treated with dignity and fairness and has their rights, culture, and privacy respected.
The guidelines also speak to the importance of integrity: being honest and transparent in all aspects of process. This involves accurately representing findings and avoiding conflicts of interest.
The ethical evaluator also takes responsibility for the impact of the evaluation on individuals and communities and consider the potential consequences of their work and strives to minimize harm.
Equity is key to ethical evaluation and my practice. Practitioners must ensure that evaluations are fair and equitable, considering the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders. Evaluators must make efforts to avoid discrimination and bias in their evaluation processes and conclusions.
A final important but often overlooked ethical consideration is the environmental impact of evaluation activities. The ethical evaluator strives to minimize any negative effects of their work on the environment.
Get in touch with HREA about our ethical approach to evaluation and review.