An Indigenous Perspective on Evaluations in the Inter-Cultural Context: How Far Can One Throw a Moree Boomerang?

Abstract

This keynote address to the Australasian Evaluation Society (AES) 2003 international conference examines the ethics involved in undertaking evaluations that concern Indigenous communities, the implications for evaluators, and the need to renew the focus on ethical evaluation practices in intercultural contexts. Intercultural refers to the ‘meeting of two distinct cultures through processes and interactions which retain the distinctive integrity and difference of both cultures and which may involve a blending of elements of both cultures but never the domination of one over another’. The author also highlights the need for the development of a new relationship between the Indigenous community and the evaluation profession.