CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTING GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION WITH MĀORI: A PĀKEHĀ PERSPECTIVE

Evaluation contractors working in the Aotearoa / New Zealand government sector, whether Māori or non-Māori, are expected to use culturally appropriate processes when evaluating mainstream programmes where Māori are a significant subgroup. For independent evaluators, this expectation is generally made explicit in requests for proposals. A range of formal guidelines has been developed over the last decade to support both commissioning agencies and independent evaluators to conduct culturally appropriate evaluations. However, few of the processes suggested in these guidelines are fully incorporated into Pākehā evaluation practice. A case study of an anonymised “Programme X ” identifies and reviews some of the challenges to good practice and process