Rethinking evaluation from an equity perspective: A conversation with Jara Dean-Coffey
Abstract
Jara Dean-Coffey is an internationally recognized leader in equitable evaluation and a key voice in rethinking the ethical, relational, and axiological foundations of evaluative practice. In this interview, conducted by researcher Rayane Freitas, she reflects on the limits of conventional evaluation frameworks and invites us to move beyond technical and methodological debates toward questions of positionality, care, strategy, and the co-creation of knowledge. The conversation explores the meanings of equity, the historical roots of evaluation as an instrument of control, and the need to expand what counts as evidence by embracing relational, contextual, and experiential forms of knowing. Jara Dean-Coffey argues that rigor and validity are strengthened, rather than threatened, by proximity, humility, and shared ownership of knowledge. Addressing the Global South, she highlights the importance of valuing local epistemologies and building context-responsive evaluative practices. This dialogue positions evaluation as a deeply human, strategic, and transformative field of inquiry.
Keywords
References
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Submitted date:
03/20/2026
Accepted date:
04/02/2026
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