From Beverly Parsons, Co-Chair, AEA's Retreat Planning Team and Executive Director, InSites 

More than 40 AEA member leaders gathered in Atlanta on June 15-16 to identify principles, structures, and processes for how members can be meaningfully engaged in the board's governance responsibilities with a special focus on its responsibility to evaluate AEA's policies, programs, and activities. 

The group consisted of the current Priority Area Teams (PATs), the board, and several other member leaders identified by president-elect Rodney Hopson. The PATs are an interim mechanism whereby members can actively provide input and guidance on issues before the Board as it proceeds forward under a policy-based governance structure, as approved by the board in 2008.

As AEA President Jennifer Greene pointed out at the beginning of the retreat: "Some of us are enthusiastic about the potential of policy-based governance to enable AEA to be more strategically present in the world outside our association, helping us be advocates and champions for evaluation in this world. And some of us are skeptical about losing cherished parts of our identity and our history amidst a preoccupation with policy and governance."

Through a set of structured group activities, retreat participants deliberated the character of meaningful member engagement and brainstormed various structures through which members could engage in evaluation of AEA's policies, programs, and activities. Participants actively, creatively, and thoughtfully offered their wisdom and experiences to these challenges and contributed in proactive and integrative ways. Specifically, the retreat served to:

• Build respectful, appreciative relationships among the retreat participants, many of whom did not previously know one another.
• Harness the collective wisdom about the leadership and structures that have been used over the years as AEA has grown from a small informal group of evaluators to the more than 6,500 members of today.
• Better illuminate/address/outline how AEA's growth has led to changes in the roles and responsibilities of the board; the executive director and staff; and member committees and task forces.
• Build a shared knowledge of policy-based governance, through hands-on activities and practical experiences, as well as ponder the greater impact that the field of evaluation can have on policy governance more broadly.
• Generate principles for member engagement in policy-based governance activities that adhere to our values and that contribute to fulfillment of board responsibilities.
• Generate practical ideas about member engagement in evaluating policies related to the annual conference and the link between programs and AEA's stated goals.
• Put in place a follow up activity through which PAT members will review the functions of their current teams and determine what structures and processes would be most appropriate moving forward.

PAT members will take the next step in determining the structures and processes for future member engagement in AEA governance, by reviewing its functions and recommending ways that those functions can effectively be carried out within the framework of policy-based governance and the principles of member engagement generated at the retreat. A subgroup of PAT members will synthesize the recommendations of the PATs and provide the board with an overall recommendation about such structures and processes. The board hopes to consider these recommendations at its November board meeting.  

If you'd like to participate in this process or comment, I invite you to contact me directly at bparsons@insites.org. We welcome your input. 

AEA's 6,500 members worldwide represent a range of backgrounds, specialties and interest areas. Join us as we profile a different member each month via a short Q&A. This month's profile spotlights Louisa Guillemard Gregory.

Name: Luisa Guillemard Gregory

Affiliation: Department of Social Sciences, Psychology Program, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus (UPRM)

Degrees:  M.S., Clinical Psychology, Ph.D. Educational Psychology

Years in the Evaluation Field: Since 2003

Year Joined AEA: 2008

Why do you belong to AEA? 

"AEA is the appropriate professional forum for evaluators to share experiences, network, and gain knowledge about what is emerging in the field. I have found that AEA members stand out as professionals who communicate and share their findings in very practical ways. Every time I go to an AEA meeting, I always bring back many ideas that I can put into practice in the design of evaluations."

How did you become involved in evaluation? 

"As has been the case for many psychologists who become evaluators, I became involved in conducting evaluations because of my experience in measurement and testing. Because of my expertise, I was recommended by a colleague to help a team of professors writing a research proposal who needed an evaluator to develop the assessment plan. I accepted this first challenge, and since then, have been invited by many other groups to design the assessment component of their research proposals. Another factor that encouraged my development in the field was the Self-Study Evaluation conducted for the Middle States Commission visit to our campus in 2005. For this visit, I served as the educational assessment coordinator, and subsequently, developed my department's educational assessment plan. Since my first evaluation in 2003, I have designed and conducted evaluations for projects funded by NSF, NOAA, USDA, and NIH, both in Puerto Rico and in the continental US. My plans are to develop an evaluation resource center in my campus to offer advice and training to researchers, evaluators, and non-profit organizations."

What is the most memorable or meaningful evaluation that you have been a part of - and why?

"The most meaningful evaluation that I have conducted was for the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center (DRC) Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (NSF-REU). I was the evaluator of this program for six years after, until it came to an end this past summer. This evaluation was meaningful because of the respect for the evaluation process demonstrated by all the staff involved in the project, their openness for constructive criticism, their constant interest in improvement, and their willingness to implement recommendations. It is very rewarding to conduct an evaluation when the process is welcomed and understood for what it is - a constructive learning experience conducive to improvement."

What advice would you give to those new to the field?

"Network, go to conferences, institutes, and collaborate with others - this is a 'must.'  I encourage new evaluators to become active in professional associations, such as AEA, and to take advantage of educational activities such as webinars and professional meetings." 

If you know someone who represents The Face of AEA, send recommendations to AEA's Communications Director, Gwen Newman, at gwen@eval.org.  

Welcome to Ben McClanahan - AEA's newest staff member who offers his expertise to help our many TIG webmasters shine. It's a timely addition and a natural fit.

"I started working with AEA in March to help manage its TIG websites, which are built on a platform I work with extensively in my work at the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)," says McClanahan. "Both organizations use the Higher Logic web platform for its community websites, so it was a very natural fit for me to help AEA. The first priority," he adds, "was developing a website for TIG webmasters to use as a resource. This site includes tutorials, demonstrations, discussion threads and other documents to help TIG webmasters hit the ground running when they are working with a new site or when they are taking over for a previous webmaster. I also work directly with TIG webmasters when they have problems or questions about how to use their site. This usually involves email correspondence, phone calls and occasional live training sessions via conference call or webinar."

Ben also serves as Internet Communications Coordinator for IAAP, a professional organization for office professionals with about 25,000 members worldwide. "I work with about 250 different chapter webmasters on keeping their sites up-to-date and also assist the general membership on how to use our website. Prior to IAAP," he says, "I worked at Penton Media, a business-to-business publishing company, as an online content strategy manager. I am based out of Kansas City, Mo., and live with my wife and two boys."

Meanwhile, AEA is currently home to 46 Topical Interest Groups that represent a wide range of interests and claim a wide range of membership. About half maintain a dedicated website where members can find timely information and locate helpful resources. Bringing Ben aboard helps the TIGs maintain consistency across the board and continuity year to year.

"My primary role with each individual TIG is to provide initial webmaster training and then support throughout the year as they run into issues or have questions," says McClanahan. "Each year, the TIG webmasters change over, so we end up with new people working on the sites. What I'm mainly focusing on now is reviewing the sites and in some cases reaching out to TIG webmasters to ask if there's anything I can do to help them. I've also put together an extensive webmasters site that contains tutorials and how-to's in case they want step-by-step directions. It goes over things like changing page layouts, managing content, embedding content (YouTube, graphs, charts, etc.), so hopefully once our TIG webmasters become more comfortable with those features, we'll see more of them on our sites and the value of the TIG sites will increase. That is something AEA did not have before, so I'm hoping it becomes a valuable resource for TIG webmasters."

For more information about AEA's Topical Interest Groups, click here, or contact Ben directly at ben@eval.org for questions regarding your TIG website. 

AEA members Pearl Eliadis, Jan-Eric Furubo and Steve Jacob are editors of Evaluation: Seeking Truth or Power?, a new book released by Transaction Publishers.

From the Publisher's Site:

"Evaluation has come of age. Today most social and political observers would have difficulty imagining a society where evaluation is not a fixture of daily life, from individual programs to local authorities to parliamentary committees. While university researchers, grant makers and public servants may think there are too many types of evaluation, rankings and reviews, evaluation is nonetheless viewed positively by the public. It is perceived as a tool for improvement and evaluators are seen as dedicated to using their knowledge for the benefit of society.

The book examines the degree to which evaluators seek power for their own interests. This perspective is based on a simple assumption: If you are in possession of an asset that can give you power, why not use it for your own interests? Can we really trust evaluation to be a force for the good? To what degree can we talk about self-interest in evaluation, and is this self-interest something that contradicts other interests such as "the benefit of society?" Such questions and others are addressed in this brilliant, innovative, international collection of pioneering contributions."

From the Editors:

"The trigger of this book was the fact that evaluation itself has become a very important ingredient in public life. Extensive resources are spent on evaluation. So, it is time to see evaluation as a powerful player in its own right. The book results from a collective reflection of the members of the International Evaluation Research Group (INTEVAL) animated by Ray C. Rist. It's a comparative endeavour that involves 13 authors from eight countries in North America and Europe with different academic backgrounds. By compiling national and international experiences, this book shows that the issue of power in evaluation resonates globally and highlights cases where power relationships play a decisive role in the evaluation process from the beginning (e.g., definition of the mandate, drafting of requests for proposals) to end (e.g., use and misuse of evaluation results).

About the Editors:
Pearl Eliadis is human rights lawyer, author and lecturer, and principal of her Montreal law firm. Trained at McGill and Oxford universities, she is admitted to the Quebec and Ontario Bars and teaches Civil Liberties at McGill's Law Faculty.

Jan-Eric Furubo has published many works on evaluation methodology, the role of evaluation in democratic decision making processes and its relation to budgeting and auditing.

Steve Jacob has been a professor in the Department of Political Science at Laval University since 2004. He was the director of the Master in Public Affairs program (2006-2010) and president of the Interfaculty Research Ethics Committee (2006-2010). He is the director of PerƒEval, the research laboratory on public policy performance and evaluation at Laval University.

Go to the Publisher's Site 

The South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) will host its third biennial conference September 5-9 in Johannesburg.  

This year's theme is M&E 4 Outcomes: Answering the 'So What' Question. This year's keynote speaker is David Fetterman, Director of Evaluation at Stanford University.  

In addition to onsite sessions, a virtual symposium will be hosted on the Wits Programme Evaluation Group website. A final call for proposals is underway and can be viewed online at the SAMEA  website. For more information or to submit proposals, contact brabie@sun.ac.za and info@samea.org.za.

• Program Officer at Transparency & Accountability Initiative (London, UNITED KINGDOM) 
• Senior Research Associate at Synergy Enterprises Inc. (Silver Spring, MD, USA) 
• Chief of Programs at Youth UpRising (Oakland, CA, USA)   
• Evaluator at Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (Bowling Green, KY, USA)
• Monitoring and Evaluation Director at The QED Group (Kandahar, AFGHANISTAN)  
• Internal Program Evaluator at Wright State University (Dayton, OH, USA) 
• Research Program Evaluator at Susan G Komen for the Cure (Dallas, TX, USA)  
• Project Director for National Evaluation of Social Innovation Fund at Duke University, Fuqua School of Business (Durham, NC, USA)
• Research Assistant Professor at University of Missouri, St Louis (St. Louis, MO, USA) 
• Program Officer for Evaluation at Fetzer Institute (Kalamazoo, MI, USA)

Descriptions for each of these positions, and many others, are available in AEA's Online Career Center. According to Google analytics, the Career Center received approximately 6,300 unique page views in the past month. It is an outstanding resource for posting your resume or position, or for finding your next employer, contractor or employee. Job hunting? You can also sign up to receive notifications of new position postings via email or RSS feed.

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