Acting together in determining value: A professional ethical responsibility of evaluators

Abstract

What ethics means in the field of evaluation is largely confined to matters of face-to-face interaction of professionals with those with whom professionals work; what is commonly referred to as professional ethics. Less attention is given to the normative characteristics that are unique to evaluation professionalism. This essay focuses on the normative political characteristics of professional ethics in evaluation; that is, how the profession ought to be connected to conceptions of the citizenry and the common good. It argues for a professional ethic referred to as democratic professionalism.