Saadiya Usmani

Ethics in Evaluation

When discussing evaluation for peace building framework, it

generally helps to have a basic understanding on what ethical
obligations are, what constitutes as ethical versus unethical
practices as well as dealing with various diverse actions and
cultures across the globe. In a conflict setting the dynamics of a
monitoring and evaluation framework changes drastically, people
and organizations tend to deal with more at hand issues than the
long-term vision.

There are many ethical dilemmas that must be noted especially at

the design phase of a project. Where there are clearly right or
wrong answers that determine what should or shouldnt be done
when designing a project, for example altering or changing data or
reports to show a feasibility of a project is clearly wrong. Many a
times however, organizations use various different methods of data
reporting that skews the end results and gives the readers as well as
the stakeholders a completely different perspective. The question
then arises what system of data reporting is indeed the correct one.

There is another underlying issue when designing a conflict

resolution and peace building project which is the grey area where
the ethical dilemmas do not have a right or wrong answer, where

culture precedes decisions, experience of the land holds the key to

making and implementing changes, which most of the times cannot
be put into a design framework and must be experienced first hand.
When dealing with a conflict and peace building projects, the need
to bring about change and positive reinforcement may sometimes
blur the lines of ethical right and wrongs. A great example of that
would be giving bribes to local government officials to start your
project of even worse to keep your project active.
However, when designing a project there must be guidelines set in
place on what can be construed as ethical or unethical is extremely
important.

Not knowing what the ethical guidelines are can be seen as sign of
ineptitude and negligence. However knowing what is right versus
wrong and clearly choosing to ignore it is morally wrong and
unethical. The question then is what really can constitute as ethical
dilemmas when dealing with designing, monitoring and evaluating a
peace-building project.

One of the main ethical dilemmas organizations may face during the
design phase is determining whether the project will satisfy the
needs of those that are involved in conflict and whether the
participants will be able to see the longer term vision and what
other methods can be used to make them see the benefits of such
projects. Second, is the idea of do no harm, where the participants

involved in such projects face no negative corollaries, many times

when putting together a peace building framework it is important to
keep the do no harm element at the front of your mind.

A great example of this is when a dialogue was taking place in

Karachi, Pakistan between two different political factions; which was
organized by a local NGO the youth from one political organization
questioned an older gentlemen from the opposition party, this led to
a scuffle and violence during the meeting, and talks breaking down,
one of the main reasons that was cited for this incident was the lack
of respect the youth showed towards the elder gentlemen. Had the
design and evaluation team paid attention to the basic cultural
element and set policies in place before the event took place many
things would have been different and the talks would have
continued. Keeping in mind the socio-political-cultural element in
mind when dealing with peace building frameworks is extremely
critical when dealing with sensitive issues.

Another important element when designing and evaluating projects

is to see how does the project maximize the opportunity for change,
though it has to be done on a case by case basis but the ideal goal
should be to create change in the fastest manner possible and
having the maximum outreach, though at times this may not be
quite that easy. One of the main issues is the funding, where it
maybe easily available, it become problematic keeping people in

check to actually do the work and carry out projects on time when
the funding monies are free flowing.

The development of indicators to value the success of the project is

a key factor when determining the ethical implications of a project.
When designing and developing projects it is extremely important to
keep the indicators in mind and also whether external factors such
as political situations, or interest of the stakeholders are constantly
kept at the forefront when developing and reviewing indicators. It
must be said that in order for the program to remain ethical, the
program should be designed with the end in mind, and how it would
benefit the masses.

The real ethical challenges arise when the project design has not
only been implemented but the need for monitoring and evaluation
arises. When evaluations need to occur, evaluators generally tend to
look at the initial baseline and make first impressions on how far the
project has come along. After the initial evaluations are done,
evaluators then really need to ensure that the project meet its
objectives and goals and produces the desired outcomes and
outputs.

When implementing such projects it is critical that personal safety

of the participants is kept as a top priority, where the participants
dont necessarily face undue duress, a common occurrence when

evaluators and implementers are delving deep into personal lives

and memories of the participants. The physical and mental safety
and wellbeing must be kept at the forefront when conducting such
projects. Another big element to consider when project is underway
is how to maintain the confidentiality of the participants especially
in a conflict setting, where talking about political ideologies may
prove very well to be fatal. In order to minimize any serious
problems and incidents, confidentiality of the participants must be a
built in factor so that no harm and damage is done.

An important element of ethical monitoring and evaluation is the

setting of realistic expectations and goals for the project. In many
instances monitoring and evaluation happens with one outcome in
mind, but the perception of results given to others maybe
something completely different. A local NGO in Islamabad went from
street to street asking residents what they thought was a better way
of managing the cleanliness of the streets, residents were told that
if they wanted their neighborhoods to be clean then they must
participate in the survey; the participants assumed that the NGO will
then carry out the work of cleaning the neighborhood etc. which was
obviously not the case. It is important that evaluators are honest
and clear when outlining the outcomes and results of a project.

In many cases it may not be possible, but freedom from political

interference and pressure is a key for an evaluator to make clear

and conscientious decisions when designing and evaluating

projects. In many instances evaluators can easily deal with the
issues of political interference and be more mindful of it before the
baseline is set. Political interference is something that should be
factored in the design phase as well. In many instances political
interference can be handled diplomatically with a little give and
take.

Transparency and clear communication of outputs and outcomes is a

very important task that must be handled with the highest ethical
standard especially when in a conflict-ridden zone. Having said that
as previously discussed that sometimes the lines do get blurry and
one has to keep in mind the various external factors when outlining,
monitoring and evaluating the feasibility and success of peace
building platforms. However, if the evaluator wishes to remain
ethical and only promises to partake in transparent evaluations,
then it is only a matter of time when the ethics will become the
forefront of each monitoring and evaluation program.