ETHICAL ISSUES IN POLICY EVALUATION

This article explores the relatively uncharted territory of ethical co nsiderations relating to formal evaluation in the context of public se rvice provision. The discussion focuses on three components: identifyi ng values informing the content, criteria and methods of evaluation; p romoting key professional standards to be applied during the process o f evaluation; and highlighting ethical issues relating to interaction between evaluator and commissioner and between evaluator and other par ticipants. The discussion draws attention to the relative neglect of e thical issues in the evaluation literature by reviewing key texts.