Ethical practice

Ethical practice in evaluation can be understood in terms of designing and conducting an evaluation to minimise any potential for harm and to maximise the value of the evaluation.

It includes identification and management of any risks to those participating in the evaluation in terms of any physical or psychological risk, burden, inconvenience or breach of their privacy. It can also include review of the likely value of the evaluation to ensure it is worth doing.

Ethics is one of the standards developed by the United Nations Evaluation Group and intended to cover all UN evaluations:

"Standard 3.2 Ethics

All those engaged in designing, conducting and managing evaluations should conform to agreed ethical standards in order to ensure overall credibility and the responsible use of power and resources.

48. Ethical principles for evaluation include obligations on the part of evaluators to behave ethically in terms of:

• Intentionality: giving consideration to the utility and necessity of an evaluation at the outset;
• Conflict of interest: exercising the commitment to avoid conflicts of interest in all aspects of their work, thereby upholding the principles of independence, impartiality, credibility, honesty, integrity and accountability;
• Interactions with participants: engaging appropriately and respectfully with participants in evaluation processes, upholding the principles of confidentiality and anonymity and their limitations; dignity and diversity; human rights; gender equality; and the avoidance of harm;
• Evaluation processes and products: ensuring accuracy, completeness and reliability; inclusion and non-discrimination; transparency; and fair and balanced reporting that acknowledges different perspectives; and
• Discovery of wrongdoing: discreetly reporting the discovery of any apparent misconduct to a competent body."