Chapter 16: Democracy and method in international development evaluation

All arguments and propositions in this book relate to the field of international development evaluation: the same argument for localism, for democratic exchange, for people to have rights over their own data and its interpretation—for people and their local realities to be represented in their own terms and to enjoy the right to question political purposes. There is no less a need for the evaluator to develop self-knowledge and narrative awareness, it is just as pressing for the evaluative researcher to develop a political understanding of the action you are caught up in and to be mindful of your democratic warrant. And there is no reason in development evaluation to privilege theory and logic over experience and contingency, no reason to opt for the dangerous convenience that outcomes are an indicator of quality.