Discuss the Principle of Common Good and Equity

Question

Examlex · Accepted Answer

The Answer is According to the principle of common good and equity, "evaluators strive to contribute to the common good and advancement of an equitable and just society." This is probably the most wide-ranging of the Guiding Principles, given that it targets notions of the public interest and the public good. Of relevance to collaborative evaluation is the principle's assertion that "evaluators identify and make efforts to address the evaluation's potential threats to the common good especially when specific stakeholder interests' conflict with the goals of a democratic, equitable, and just society." The notion of social justice thus becomes salient here. From an evaluation perspective, it has been argued that this concept encompasses: Ensuring that research priorities reflect the . . . needs of all socioeconomic communities, particularly vulnerable communities; and promoting institutions and social practices that support capacities for self-determination and ensure respectful interactions. This is best achieved if the individuals and communities who are the object of the research participate as partners at all stages of the research process. Viewed from a social justice vantage point, the Common Good and Equity principle puts forth an ambitious agenda, one that should be distinctively compelling to collaborative evaluators. Evaluators are seen as having an ethical responsibility to engage stakeholders in ways that might extend beyond the narrowly defined parameters of a particular study and address the implications of that study for the achievement of positive community/social change. From a related standpoint, this can be regarded as a shift in emphasis from minimizing individual risk (i.e., do no harm) to "considering the benefits of evaluation to society" as a whole. Discerning these implications can be a difficult task, given the multiple stakeholders involved and the competing/conflicting interests they can represent. Indeed, extracting the nature of the overall public good in such circumstances is probably more of an ideological endeavor than an ethical one. What does seem clear, however, is that collaborative evaluators have embraced, ethically and otherwise, an orientation that is more rather than less inclusive with respect to defining the public good within the context of their work. At least this is what occurs at the level of espoused theory. The extent to which this emphasis is reflected in actual practice is an empirical question, one for which little beyond anecdotal data are available.

Discuss the Principle of Common Good and Equity

Definitions: