Honouring Relational Responsibilities for Indigenous-Led Social Change: A Literature Review of International Indigenous Evaluation Frameworks

Indigenous evaluation literature is a powerful approach to upholding the aspirations of Indigenous Peoples. As a site of knowledge production, literature shapes the evaluation processes and practices that serve self-determined priorities: This article offers a synthesis of international Indigenous evaluation theory, to move beyond culturally competent evaluation as a framework for prioritising Indigenous values and aspirations. We acknowledge that ‘culture’ and ‘context’ remain necessary and strategic principles in evaluation design, particularly when evaluation of Indigenous programs continues to be strongly bound by funder and settler government priorities. However, we argue that such principles are insufficient, drawing instead on the broader field of Indigenous evaluation theory that centre Indigenous sovereignties, for programs that enact Indigenous aspirations. Insights from our theoretical review indicate Indigenous evaluation frameworks can play an active role in moving beyond neoliberal discourses of evaluation often adopted by governments and other funders, towards relational responsibilities that inform Indigenous approaches to validity. We take up the frameworks of relationships, relevance, and responsibility (3 Rs) as providing an important framing to foreground relational accountabilities and place-specific priorities in evaluative practice for Indigenous-led social change.