Beyond the Barriers: Why EDIA must be Central to Evaluation Practice

Guest written by ParriagGroup team members Erin Bull and Megan Green

Last fall, our team had the opportunity to present at the Canadian Evaluation Society's BC Chapter Evaluation Conference, where we facilitated a World Café-style session focused on uncovering EDIA best practices in evaluation.

In a room full of evaluators (people deeply committed to rigour, accountability, and learning), there was a shared recognition that many of the tools we are expected to use do not align with the equity commitments we are asked to uphold. This sticking point reminded us that these challenges are not individual failures, but systemic ones.

Erin Bull, Megan Green and Amanda Parriag at the Canadian Evaluation Society's BC Chapter Evaluation Conference

Equity-oriented evaluation is not simply a matter of adding better questions or disaggregating data. Most evaluation systems, frameworks, and reporting requirements are rooted in colonial logics that privilege dominant definitions of evidence, rigid timelines, and funder-driven notions of success. This creates a fundamental tension: evaluators are increasingly asked to be equitable while operating within systems that actively create inequity.

Why does this matter? Because evaluation shapes decisions. It determines whose knowledge counts, what outcomes are valued, and which stories are amplified or erased. When evaluation prioritizes objectivity without examining power, it often marginalizes community-defined success, lived experience, and relational ways of knowing. Equity-deserving communities may participate in evaluations, yet still find their realities flattened or filtered out in final reports.

An equity-centred approach to evaluation asks different questions. It challenges evaluators to adapt tools rather than expecting communities to adapt to them. It requires negotiating accountability in ways that honour both institutional requirements and community priorities. It also asks evaluators to reflect on their own positionality, and to design processes that are accessible, inclusive, and grounded in care.

As EDIA continues to move from aspiration to expectation, evaluators have a choice: continue working within inherited systems without question, or push thoughtfully and collectively toward evaluation practices that align with our values. We must reflect on where existing evaluation systems create harm, and commit to co-creating solutions that embody ethical, credible, and impactful practice.

Equity is not just an add-on to good evaluation; it is a foundational approach to truly measure what matters.