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Cultural Competency
by Leah Goldstein Moses

We live in an increasingly diverse world, and as researchers and evaluators, we are trying to understand that world and what happens in it. Ability to reach across cultures can help us deepen that understanding. Why? Cultural competency ensures that:

• we ask the right research questions, those that are the highest priority to the greatest number of people
• the methods we use to gather data are appropriate for the respondents and make sure the questions we ask are respectful
• the findings from our research are relevant and important to the people they affect

The California Endowment has been studying culturally-competent evaluation, and provided this explanation: “[Culturally competent evaluation] takes into consideration the cultural factors that are going to influence the evaluation. That includes the design, data collection, and ultimate analysis of the results.

How do you be ‘culturally competent’ in evaluation? I am guided by a simple personal philosophy, but also rely on others’ research to help make sure I am not neglecting some important considerations. My simple philosophy has three basic parts:

• Recognize my own assumptions or culturally-specific framework and voice those assumptions when needed. For example, when working with a diverse group, I might say “I always have assumed that this issue was universal; now I see I have been working from a cultural perspective.”
• Be willing to ask questions to help me understand when others are making assumptions or acting from a culturally-specific, rather than individual, framework. For example, I might ask someone how prevalent their perspectives are among people they know.
• Embrace and respect relativity; while I know there is a debate about whether there are absolute values, I think understanding that others are going to have different priorities and values is a helpful way to remind myself that I am not always right.

Several organizations have proposed a framework for a culturally-competent approach to research and evaluation. In Canada, the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies developed Ethical Principles for the Conduct of Research in the North which could be applied more broadly.2 Among the 20 principals outlined in the document, the following are relevant no matter the context and have been incorporated into the Improve Group’s practice.

• There should be appropriate community consultation at all stages of research, including its design and practice. In determining the extent of appropriate consultation, researchers and communities should consider the relevant cross-cultural contexts, if any, and the type of research involved. However, incorporation of local research needs into research projects is encouraged. At the Improve Group, we think about what the appropriateness of different research practices with different communities. For example, we are incorporating text-messaging into our practice when working with young adults who are “digital natives.”
• Mutual respect is important for successful partnerships. In the case of northern research, there should be respect for the language, traditions, and standards of the community and respect for the highest standards of scholarly research. Here at the Improve Group, this is embodied as an intentional respect for the wisdom and knowledge brought to research by non-researchers. For example, while we may work with organizations which have staff that profess that they are not “numbers people”, we encourage them to share their stories and experiences and help us interpret the numbers appropriately.
• The research must respect the privacy and dignity of the people. Researchers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the cultures and traditions of local communities. For example, we might be interviewing a person one day who is completely comfortable sharing very intimate details about their lives, and on another day working with someone for whom privacy is a primary concern. We can respect each person by explaining the purpose of our research, the types of questions we will ask, and giving them some comfortable ways to “opt out” of any questions.
• No research involving living people or extant environments should begin before obtaining the informed consent of those who might be unreasonably affected or of their legal guardian. While some federal funding guidelines have clear rules around consent, many programs and services operate under less stringent rules. We work with our clients to understand any vulnerabilities in the population and what options we have for obtaining consent.
• Research summaries in the local language and research reports should be made available to the communities involved. Consideration also should be given to providing reports in the language of the community and to otherwise enhance access. One way we address this issue is by creating reports in various formats; for example, we might write a short summary in a school’s newsletter and provide a link to a longer, more detailed report. This gives all stakeholders an opportunity to be as informed as they would like.

We will be exploring these issues and more on June 9 during our online chat Evaluating with Cultural Competency. Register to join us by contacting Susan Murphy at susanm@theimprovegroup.com; a transcript of the chat will be posted later in the week.

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1 See the California Endowment’s Foundation Leaders’ Perspectives on Culturally-Competent Evaluation at http://www.calendow.org/Collection_Publications.aspx?coll_id=74&ItemID=416#

2 See http://www.acuns.ca/EthicsEnglishmarch2003.pdf for an English-language version