OMNI’s Privacy & Security Policy

OMNI has strong infrastructure in place to assure high standards of research conduct, data security and privacy, and internal consistency across our staff. OMNI’s Privacy and Security Policy and protocols were developed to support the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) and guided by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For example, when projects contain PII, the sensitive data are stored in an encrypted, secure folder within Dropbox and only staff who are working directly with the data have access to the folder. Access is verified with unique credentials and two-factor authentication. Dropbox files are encrypted in transit and at rest using 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Data stored in OMNI’s Dropbox account is protected by industry-standard securities including firewalls, network vulnerability scanning, network security monitoring, and intrusion detection systems.

Data are also protected by other securities per OMNI’s Privacy and Security Policy, which is reviewed and updated annually, please see OMNI Institute Privacy and Security Policy . OMNI conducts annual risk assessments, secures its work stations, trains staff at least annually on privacy and security practices, and uses industry standards for the protection of hardware, software, and applications. In addition, OMNI staff has a wealth of experience developing data sharing and confidentiality agreements to support access and management of sensitive data; we have a Federal-Wide Assurance (FWA) with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Colorado-Boulder when projects require compliance with IRB; each staff member obtains certification from the Protecting Human Research Participants online training from the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI); and OMNI has adopted the American Evaluation Association’s Guiding Principles as an organizational practice. These principles provide a set of standards for the professional practice of evaluators in the areas of systematic inquiry, competence, integrity/honesty, respect for people, and responsibilities for general and public welfare. Adoption of these principles reflects OMNI’s commitment to upholding our industry’s highest ethical standards. 

Evaluation Ethics at OMNI

As mentioned above, OMNI has adopted the American Evaluation Association’s Guiding Principles as an organizational practice. The five Principles address systematic inquiry, competence, integrity, respect for people, and common good and equity. The Principles are interdependent and interconnected. At times, they might even conflict with one another. Therefore, we as evaluators at OMNI carefully examine how we justify professional actions in every situation.

The Principles govern the behavior of OMNI evaluators in all stages of the evaluation from the initial discussion of focus and purpose, through design, implementation, reporting, and ultimately the use of the evaluation.

The Principles

Systematic Inquiry: Evaluators conduct data-based inquiries that are thorough, methodical, and contextually relevant.

1. Adhere to the highest technical standards appropriate to the methods being used while attending to the evaluation's scale and available resources.

2. Explore with primary stakeholders the limitations and strengths of the core evaluations questions and the approaches that might be used for answering those questions.

3. Communicate methods and approaches accurately, and in sufficient detail, to allow others to understand, interpret, and critique the work.

4. Make clear the limitations of the evaluation and its results.

5. Discuss in contextually appropriate ways the values, assumptions, theories, methods, results, and analyses that significantly affect the evaluator's interpretations of the findings.

6. Carefully consider the ethical implications of the use of emerging technologies in evaluation practice.

Competence: Evaluators provide skilled professional services to stakeholders.

1. Ensure that the evaluation team possesses the education, abilities, skills, and experiences required to complete the evaluation competently.

2. When the most ethical option is to proceed with a commission or request outside the boundaries of the evaluation team's professional preparation and competence, clearly communicate any significant limitations to the evaluation that might result. Make every effort to supplement missing or weak competencies directly or through the assistance of others.

3. Ensure that the evaluation team collectively possesses or seeks out the competencies necessary to work in the cultural context of the evaluation.

4. Continually undertake relevant education, training, or supervised practice to learn new concepts, techniques, skills, and services necessary for competent evaluation practice. Ongoing professional development might include formal coursework and workshops, self-study, self-or externally-commissioned evaluations of one's own practice, and working with other evaluators to learn and refine evaluative skills expertise.

Integrity: Evaluators behave with honesty and transparency in order to ensure the integrity of the evaluation.

1. Communicate truthfully and openly with clients and relevant stakeholders concerning all aspects of the evaluation, including its limitations.

2. Disclose any conflicts of interest (or appearance of a conflict) prior to accepting an evaluation assignment and manage or mitigate any conflicts during the evaluation.

3. Record and promptly communicate any changes to the originally negotiated evaluation plans, the rationale for those changes, and the potential impacts on the evaluation's scope and results.

4. Assess and make explicit the stakeholders', clients', and evaluators' values, perspectives, and interests concerning the conduct and outcome of the evaluation.

5. Accurately and transparently represent evaluation procedures, data, and findings.

6. Clearly communicate, justify, and address concerns related to procedures or activities that are likely to produce misleading evaluative information or conclusions. Consult colleagues for suggestions on proper ways to proceed if concerns cannot be resolved, and decline the evaluation when necessary.

7. Disclose all sources of financial support for an evaluation and the source of the request for the evaluation.

Respect for People: Evaluators honor the dignity, well-being, and self-worth of individuals and acknowledge the influence of culture within and across groups.

1. Strive to gain an understanding of, and treat fairly, the range of perspectives and interests that individuals and groups bring to the evaluation, including those that are not usually included or are oppositional.

2. Abide by current professional ethics, standards, and regulations (including informed consent, confidentiality, and prevention of harm) pertaining to evaluation participants.

3. Strive to maximize the benefits and reduce unnecessary risks or harms for groups and individuals associated with the evaluation.

4. Ensure that those who contribute data and incur risks do so willingly and that they have knowledge of and the opportunity to obtain benefits of the evaluation.

Common Good and Equity: Evaluators strive to contribute to the common good and advancement of an equitable and just society.

1. Recognize and balance the interests of the client, other stakeholders, and the common good while also protecting the integrity of the evaluation.

2. Identify and make efforts to address the evaluation's potential threats to the common good especially when specific stakeholder interests conflict with the goals of a democratic, equitable, and just society.

3. Identify and make efforts to address the evaluation's potential risks of exacerbating historic disadvantage or inequity.

4. Promote transparency and active sharing of data and findings with the goal of equitable access to information in forms that respect people and honor promises of confidentiality.

5. Mitigate the bias and potential power imbalances that can occur as a result of the evaluation's context. Self-assess one's own privilege and positioning within that context.

These Guiding Principles support OMNI’s core values of Inquiry, Accountability, Connection, and Agility and underpin every project that we undertake.