Evaluation Standards of Seval, the Swiss Evaluation Society (seval Standards)

The SEVAL Standards define the demands placed on an evaluation but do not specify the instruments to be used in it. Ideally, an evaluation will fulfill all the criteria listed in the SEVAL Standards. However, it will not always be possible to heed each Standard equally, and it is thus far more appropriate to adapt the SEVAL Standards to the specific evaluation situation. This can mean certain Standards will be judged insignificant while others will be lent great weight. Whatever the case, the adaptation of the Standards to the specific evaluation situation should be well considered, openly presented, and explicitly justified. Such adaptation should be negotiated and agreed upon at the outset of the evaluation, in a format that includes all who are involved in an evaluation: evaluators, those contracting the evaluation, the addressees of the evaluation, and any others who will be or may become involved in the evaluation.