Cultural Codes – Who Holds the Key?

Abstract

This article examines the impact of cultural codes on the conduct and outcomes of evaluation. Cultural codes are defined as symbols and systems of meaning that are relevant to members of a particular culture (or subculture). These codes can be utilized to facilitate communication within the ‘inside group’ and also to obscure the meaning to ‘outside groups’. Drawing on the authors' combined experiences in Central and Eastern Europe, the article explores how cultural codes emerged in these contexts and the challenges they presented to the conduct and utilization of evaluation and to the evaluators themselves. Evaluators must be prepared, it is suggested, to unlock their own internal codes in relation to those of other cultures in order to create the appropriate socio-political relationships that are a prerequisite for learning and change. The article concludes with a discussion of the kind of partnerships and trust it is necessary to establish to underpin a mutual unlocking of codes.