Principles of LGBTQ+ Evaluation

Abstract

The time is long overdue for the field of evaluation to critically reckon with how we have failed to appropriately consider the needs and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) people. Perhaps even more importantly, there is a dire need for work that moves us forward in new directions which are more affirming and inclusive of LGBTQ+ people. To achieve this idealistic change in LGBTQ+ Evaluation will require a genuine, transformative paradigm shift within the evaluation field, encompassing everything from pedagogy to practice and all activities in between. As a first step toward a unified paradigm of LGBTQ+ Evaluation, this chapter proposes eight Principles of LGBTQ+ Evaluation to guide evaluators’ work in partnership with and in service of LGBTQ+ communities, organizations, and individuals. Here we are not seeking to provide a script or a rigid framework but rather to create guiding signposts that light the way for evaluators new to LGBTQ+ Evaluation.