Understanding Cross-Cultural Evaluation: Making Sense of Theory and Practice

Abstract

As a fairly new and emergent construct, there remain many gaps in our knowledge about how to integrate notions of culture and cultural context into evaluation theory and practice, as well as gaps in our knowledge about how to conduct and implement evaluations in immigrant and indigenous communities. This research explores how culture influences the evaluation and the program setting, and how it mediates the relationship between evaluators and diverse community stakeholders. Through an interconnected three-phase study (a comprehensive literature review, interviews with scholars and practitioners and focus groups with community-based program managers), this research develops a six dimensional framework (relational, ecological, methodological, organizational, political, and personal) depicting the inter-related dimensions and components that surface in interactions between evaluators and community-based stakeholders in cross-cultural program and evaluation contexts. The findings suggest that culture and cultural context influence every dimension of the evaluation, including the relationships we develop with stakeholders, the evaluation and program context, the methodologies and methods that we select, the politics and power dimensions surrounding the program and evaluation setting, the organizational constraints, and the evaluator's personal values and biases. The findings also suggest that relationships have far-reaching consequences, particularly given the predominant use of participatory and collaborative approaches in cross-cultural settings. While the findings also suggest that a participatory approach to evaluation cannot alter the broader social, economic, political and cultural systems that continue to create and sustain inequities in our society, understanding the dynamic, unfolding and ongoing connections and relations between evaluators and stakeholders is essential.