Formal evaluations of programs, plans, and policies are often heralded as essential tools for accountability and ensuring value-for-money. However, they are rarely scrutinized for the ways they create and perpetuate inequalities. Two key dynamics in evaluation practice—the processes of knowledge production and the mechanisms determining who and what gets valued—are central to understanding how inequalities are reproduced. This Special Issue aims to explore how these practices can be reimagined to resist the reproduction of inequities and uncover opportunities to harness evaluation for promoting equity and justice.

Despite the diverse array of evaluation practices available to assess complex social phenomena, the field of equity remains dominated by experimental designs rooted in epistemologies that can silence marginalised voices (Burke & Lumb 2018, 12; Burke & Lumb 2024; Brisolara et al. 2014; Donaldson et al. 2009). This narrow focus underscores the urgent need for approaches, both within the field of equity and beyond, that challenge dominant value systems and address the perpetuation of multidimensional injustices in an era of increasing inequality. Justice-oriented evaluation methodologies help disrupt the marginalization of socially disadvantaged perspectives, with significant implications for advancing equity and justice.