EVALUATION CULTURAL COMPETENCE
The American Evaluation Association (AEA) defines a culturally competent evaluator as a person who “is prepared to engage with diverse segments of communities to include cultural and contextual dimensions important to the evaluation. Evaluators who strive for cultural competence: acknowledge the complexity of cultural identify; recognize the dynamics of power; recognize and eliminate bias in language; employ culturally appropriate methods.” AEA’s Public Statement on Cultural Competence in Evaluation (seen to the right) provides a set of practices that you can use to integrate cultural competence into your evaluation work. The Centers for Disease Control (CDS) developed a set of cultural competence standards that accompany their evaluation competencies. Along with the standards, CDC has identified “Practical Strategies for Culturally Competent Evaluation.”
With its emphasis on stakeholder engagement, this version of CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation (see Figure 1) emphasizes an even greater commitment to cultural competence than do less participatory
evaluation approaches. Evaluations guided by the CDC framework actively involve engaging a range of stakeholders throughout the entire process, and cultural competence is essential for ensuring truly meaningful engagement. As evaluators, we have an ethical obligation to create an inclusive climate in which everyone invested in the evaluation — from agency head to program client — can fully participate. At the same time, significantly engaging stakeholders, particularly in the planning stage, will enhance the evaluation’s cultural competence.
Figure 1: CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health
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