Values
Values are useful only when they change how the work is done.
Values
“Values are useful only when they change how the work is done.”
The words themselves are familiar. What matters is how they affect everyday choices: the method we use, the assignment we refuse, the way we report an inconvenient finding and the way we treat people involved in the work.
Eight Values in Practice
Integrity
We should be able to explain and defend our advice if it is questioned. If a recommendation depends on hiding a fact, manipulating evidence or saying something we do not believe, we do not make it.
Evidence
Evidence comes before preference. Where the data is incomplete or ambiguous, we say so. Where it challenges an assumption held by us or by a client, we do not smooth that contradiction away.
Collaboration
Clients and communities often know parts of the problem that an outside consultant cannot see. We involve them in the work and bring in specialists from different fields when the question demands it.
Quality
Good work takes enough time, data and attention to detail. If a brief, deadline or budget makes a reliable answer impossible, we would rather narrow the scope than pretend otherwise.
Innovation
We use new methods and tools when they make the work better, faster or more reliable — not because they are fashionable. Methods should serve the question, not the other way around.
Capability
Where possible, we transfer knowledge, methods and tools to the client team. A good engagement should strengthen internal capability rather than create unnecessary dependence on the consultant.
Public purpose
The people affected by a policy, campaign, business decision or public message are part of the context, even when they are not the client. We consider those consequences when deciding what work to accept and what advice to give.
Respect
Respect applies to everyone involved in an assignment: respondents, field investigators, interns, clients, community members and colleagues. Good research and good professional relationships both depend on it.
When Values Matter Most
Values matter most when following them has a cost: an uncomfortable finding, a lost assignment, a slower process or a recommendation a client did not expect. Those are the situations in which these commitments are meant to guide us.