I agree as well. There is no such thing as a perfectly neutral human being or methodology, and if that's what we aim for, we set ourselves to fail.
The most we can do is try and be aware of our own biases, beliefs and presuppositions, be aware of the limitations and biases involved in this vs. that method, and try and manage these limitations and biases.
So instead of "unbiased information will help make the necessary corrections", I would say that for an evaluation to be credible (and hence useful), all stakeholders need to trust that the evaluators and the process are ***reasonably*** neutral i.e. not too strongly influenced by one particular stakeholder, that no stakeholder is marginalized or silenced during the process, and that the evaluators are not ideologically wedged to a particular view but rather keep "an open mind" towards diverse views and interpretations. This to my mind would come closer to a more achievable standard for evaluation independence than perfect objectivity.
RE: Neutrality-impartiality-independence. At which stage of the evaluation is each concept important?
I agree as well. There is no such thing as a perfectly neutral human being or methodology, and if that's what we aim for, we set ourselves to fail.
The most we can do is try and be aware of our own biases, beliefs and presuppositions, be aware of the limitations and biases involved in this vs. that method, and try and manage these limitations and biases.
So instead of "unbiased information will help make the necessary corrections", I would say that for an evaluation to be credible (and hence useful), all stakeholders need to trust that the evaluators and the process are ***reasonably*** neutral i.e. not too strongly influenced by one particular stakeholder, that no stakeholder is marginalized or silenced during the process, and that the evaluators are not ideologically wedged to a particular view but rather keep "an open mind" towards diverse views and interpretations. This to my mind would come closer to a more achievable standard for evaluation independence than perfect objectivity.
Thanks,
Olivier