Emphasizing Cultural Competence in Evaluation

Abstract

This paper describes a process-oriented approach to culturally competent evaluation, focusing on a case study of an evaluation of an HIV/AIDS educational program in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. We suggest that cultural competency in evaluation is not a function of a static set of prescribed steps but is achieved via ongoing reflection, correction, and adaptation. The aim of these processes is to attain the ``best fit'' possible between evaluation goals, methods, and cultural context. Three main ingredients in a process-oriented approach to culturally competent evaluation are discussed: collaboration, reflective adaptation, and contextual analysis. In addition, since evaluators face constraints set by funders and other stakeholders, we suggest that cultural competence is best viewed as a continuum. An evaluator's goal should be to ``move across the continuum'' in order to achieve the highest level of cultural competency possible given the unique parameters of every evaluation.