Two previous ethics events have been hosted by the Centre for Development Impact. These events looked at ethics and explored how the concept can become more relevant to the field of impact evaluation. One issue is that, while inclusion is recognised as a fundamental principle of best practice, it is often discussed narrowly in terms of ethics. Inclusion relates to the involvement of people, organisations and communities in the planning, process and feedback of an evaluation. Yet inclusion is frequently addressed as a narrow ethical commitment to serve and protect individual liberties directly involved in the evaluation. One conclusion was that evaluators could focus more on diverse groups affected by evaluations, with the range of different values and worldviews, and reconsider normative approaches to ethics. This points towards a broader ethics model, where diverse values and principles (of researchers, practitioners, donors, and the public) are considered in relation to the process of evaluation, as well as in relation to society.
The panel discussion will address questions such as:
- To what extent is inclusion currently part of evaluation practice, as well as rhetoric, and which actors are driving these change?
- What does inclusion, which in some respects represents a diffusion of the notion of expertise, mean for evaluation professionalism?
- What challenges do evaluators face in practicing inclusion?
Speakers: Chris Barnett; Rob D. van den Berg; Laura Camfield; John Gaventa; and Leslie Groves.
This event is open to the public but registration is required as places are limited. If you wish to attend please contact [email protected]. We will be live-tweeting from the event using the #cdimpact hashtag.
