The Journey Continues: Ensuring Cross-Culturally Competent Evaluation - Conclusion
The themes that emerged from the expert commentaries suggest that cross-cultural competence requires understanding the nuances of each cultural group and is essential in good evaluation practice. Many of the experts’ commentaries about the four case studies reflect the guiding principles of the American Evaluation Association; however, for evaluators less experienced in working with different cultural communities, the nuances that require attention are less obvious. Without sufficient understanding of these nuances, evaluators may identify the wrong key informants or misinterpret the data.

On the other hand, as emphasized in The Importance of Culture in Evaluation, it is impossible for any evaluator to know the nuances of every cultural group. It is more feasible for evaluators to develop the ability not to make assumptions about any group of people and to know what questions to ask before conducting any evaluative work. More importantly, it is practical for evaluators to cultivate an intentional orientation toward the histories, experiences and norms of different groups of people, especially for groups which have been traditionally invisible or ignored.