Code of conduct

As part of this project, we are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to share and promote their evaluation methods and processes.

We are also working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to facilitate their feedback and reviews on evaluations that have been conducted in their communities or regions.

BetterEvaluation wishes to share Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material that has been shared informally or is in the public domain but is not very visible. These works will be made available to the public at betterevaluation.org and through hard copy or other formats of the materials.

BetterEvaluation is committed to respecting the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to protect, maintain, control and benefit from their stories about sites or country, cultural, ceremonial, ecological or botanical knowledge, or language (in line with Article 31 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People). This includes literary, artistic and performance works; languages; scientific, agricultural, technical and ecological knowledge; spiritual knowledge; all items of moveable cultural property (including burial artefacts); object and ancestral remains; human genetic material (including DNA and tissues); cultural environment resources; immovable cultural property; and documentation of Indigenous peoples’ heritage.

When working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributors, BetterEvaluation will:

• inform contributors upfront about the nature and implications of sharing material on the website, which is shared under a Creative Commons License.  This includes explaining the risks and benefits of sharing material on the website.
• allow a reasonable amount of time for the contributor to make a decision about whether to share the material. Consent must be free, informed and given prior to creating new materials or sharing existing materials.
• use the BetterEvaluation contributor agreement.
• discuss details of benefit sharing upfront. We acknowledge and respect the need for fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the sharing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material.
• ensure that material receives adequate acknowledgement and recognition, including recognition of the traditional owners/custodians. The contributor will be acknowledged in accordance with their wishes.

This version of the Code of Conduct will be reviewed and updated as needed, based on any issues arising from its use in practice.

Creative Commons license

All contributors to the BetterEvaluation website share their material under a Creative Commons license. This means that the copyright and intellectual property rights of contributors will be protected, and attribution of authors will be maintained.

Under a Creative Commons license, contributors are giving permission for their material to be shared, copied and redistributed in any format. Contributors also give permission for their material to be adapted by remixing, transforming, and building upon it.

It is a condition of the Creative Commons license that users must give appropriate credit to the author and indicate if changes were made to the original material. Contributors understand that it is not feasible for BetterEvaluation to enforce this requirement – the material will be used by third parties beyond BetterEvaluation’s knowledge or control. However, BetterEvaluation informs its users that attribution of the author is a term of the license and is best practice. It will ensure all material hosted on its website gives the author appropriate credit.

Sharing work under a Creative Commons license does not involve forfeiting copyright, it simply allows certain use to be made of copyright material. BetterEvaluation will ensure that it complies with the cultural protocols of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributors and this Policy in relation to the curation, access, and use of ICIP held by BetterEvaluation.