I'm sure that at Evaluation 2014 you learned heaps of information to improve your practice and your operating theories. No doubt your evaluation expertise has improved. I'm betting you also learned a lot about how to give a presentation. Whether it was through the Potent Presentations Initiative (p2i) training materials or just by watching other evaluators present, you likely picked up tips and tricks that can make a presentation really shine. Don't wait until Evaluation 2015 to try those ideas!

 

 

Thank you to all who attended sessions on evaluation policy at the recent AEA conference in Denver and to those who provided input on policy options and future directions. The EPTF has been collecting and studying the evaluation policies and plans of agencies and other countries while also interviewing evaluation office directors to better understand how to influence the development of evaluation policy. We also are very interested in the consequences of such policies. If you have or know of evaluation policies and plans that you would like to share, please let me know. Your input will be quite valuable. The EPTF plans to make a set of policies and plans available on its website. These can serve as examples for other agencies and countries to use in developing or updating their own statements.

 

Continue Reading  

Join us in welcoming Mike Hendricks as AEA's official representative to the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE). IOCE serves as a hub or support mechanism for evaluation associations, societies, and networks around the world in order to promote the strengthening of the worldwide community of evaluation professionals. Its mission is to increase public awareness and globally validate evaluation and support Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) in contributing to good governance, effective decision making, and strengthening the role of civil society. Hendricks' term as the IOCE representative is 2015-2017.

 

Hendricks is an independent evaluation consultant and brings 35 years of experience in planning, evaluation, and management of international programs and activities. He has conducted evaluation work in a multitude of countries, including Mexico, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mozambique, Peru, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Thailand. From 1990 to 1993 he lived in New Delhi, India, working on evaluations for USAID, CARE, and the World Bank, and from 2001 to 2004 he lived in Venezuela.

 

Hendricks also has a rich history within AEA. In 1985, he was awarded the Robert Ingle Service Award for his efforts in helping to create AEA from the merger of Evaluation Network and the Evaluation Research Society. In 1995, he and Ross Conner collaborated on a chapter in New Directors for Program Evaluation entitled "International Perspectives on the Guiding Principles." He served on the AEA Board of Directors from 2008 to 2010. During that time, he also served as the board liaison to the International Committee.

 

"I have tried to actively promote evaluation at the global level for most of my career," said Hendricks. "Having admired the birth and steady growth of the IOCE, I am tremendously excited at the opportunity to contribute whatever skills I have to help further this work. The fact that 2015 will be the International Year of Evaluation is obviously exciting, but the efforts already underway to develop a global evaluation agenda for the year 2016 - 2020 are equally important."

 

Hendricks follows Tessie Catsambas, president of EnCompass LLC, who served in this role for three years. "Tessie represented AEA incredibly well and brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role," said Beverly Parsons, 2014 AEA President. "We are so appreciative of her time and talent on behalf of AEA. I'm also grateful that she will continue her AEA service as Evaluation 2015 program chair, a means by which she will further shape AEA's emphasis on living in a multicultural world. Mike and Tessie have been working closely together over the past couple of months to ensure a smooth transition. I'm very excited to have Mike as our new IOCE rep and excited that he and Tessie will both be actively involved in providing leadership within AEA during the 2015 International Year of Evaluation."

  

Click here to visit the IOCE website. 

Corrie Whitmore lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where she is the founding president of the Alaska Evaluation Network and an internal evaluator for Southcentral Foundation, an Alaska Native owned and operated healthcare organization serving approximately 60,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people each year. In her current role, Whitmore evaluates everything from space utilization to nursing home visiting programs and provides results to internal operations staff and external funders. 

 

She completed her Ph.D. in developmental psychology at Virginia Tech in 2009 before returning to her home state for a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alaska Anchorage's Center for Behavioral Health, Research, and Services. Since her early graduate school days, Whitmore has worked as an evaluator and educator in diverse communities, including elementary and higher education, tribal environments, and healthcare. Whitmore focuses on capacity building across domains, teaching at her workplace's Employee Development Center and the University of Alaska Anchorage Honors College. In addition, she serves as the chair of the Alaska Evaluation Network's Conference Planning Committee and remains an active member of AEA's Internal Evaluation and Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation TIGs.

In her ballot statement, Whitmore stated:

"If elected, I will bring both a fresh viewpoint and organizational experience to the AEA Board. As an early career Alaskan evaluator, I will contribute to the diversity of voices on the board. This is an exciting time for evaluation and I look forward to helping AEA build relationships with policymakers and organizations as a socially responsible organization dedicated to supporting 'effective and humane organizations and ultimately to the enhancement of the public good' (AEA's Mission, Vision, Values and AEA Policies)."
 

Veronica M. Olazabal, Director of Monitoring & Evaluation, Nuru International

2014 Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award

 

"Being recognized for my beliefs that evaluation can be a force for pro-poor systematic change is very exciting," said Olazabal. "Yet, more than excited, I am overwhelmingly humbled knowing that my efforts as an evaluation practitioner have been shaped by the teachings of all my colleagues and mentors throughout the developed and developing world. This award not only speaks to me, but also speaks to the result of their hard work and efforts - for that, I am very grateful."

Our eStudy program is made up of in-depth virtual professional development courses. Below are upcoming eStudy offerings: 

Fundamentals of Good Evaluation Reporting - Anne Markiewicz

December 4

2:00 - 2:20 p.m. ET

The production of credible and defensible evaluation reports is essential to inform and support organizational decision making and learning. While evaluation reports are routinely produced, the use of these reports as a source of credible evidence for decision making and resource allocation, and as a means to inform organizational reflection and learning, could be much improved. This webinar will present the 10 key elements that make for good evaluation reporting. 

Evaluation Made Easy: Creating Meaningful Toolkits (A Farm to School Example) - Dr. Lyn Kathlene

December 18

2:00 - 2:20 p.m. ET

Read more and register