Adventures In Evaluation Podcast

Fun in Cameroon at AfrEA 2014 & The Quest for Exciting Journal Articles

In this episode we present a mixed bag where Kylie debriefs her most excellent week at the African Evaluation Association 2014 conference and James takes us on his search for a "non-boring" evaluation journal article. 

Fun on the Conference Shuttle Bus

Shout outs to Serge-Eric Yakeu Djiam, Jennifer Bisgard, and all the hard-working volunteers at AfrEA2014 and the Cameroon Development Evaluation Association for a great conference.

Below are some of the articles that James found in his search:

 

• American Evaluation Association Task Force Statement on ‘What is Evaluation?’ (2014)
• Fournier, D. M. (1995). Establishing evaluative conclusions: A distinction between general and working logic. New Directions for Evaluation, 65, 15-32.
• Patton, M. Q. (2000). Overview: Language matters. New Directions for Evaluation, 86, 5-16.
• Gamble, J. (2006). A Developmental Evaluation Primer. Montreal, PQ: McConnell Foundation.
• Dozois, E., Langlois, M., Blanchet-Cohen, N. (2010). DE201: A practitioner's guide to Developmental Evaluation. Montreal, PQ: McConnell Foundation.
• Scheirer, M. A. & Schwandt, T. (2012).  Planning evaluation through the program life cycle. American Journal of Evaluation, online, 1-32.
• Evergreen, S. & Metzner, C. (2013). Design principles for data visualization in evaluation.  New Directions in Evaluation, 140, 5-20. 

Until next time,

Kylie & James

Reflections on AEA2013 in Washington, DC

Couldn't make it to AEA2013?  In this episode we share our own personal highlights of the conference.  By the way:

• the Twitter hashtag for Michael Quinn Patton is #omgmqp.
• Sheila B. Robinson gives a great summary on her blog here.
• the evaluation typology map that Kylie mentions is here.

Finally, don't forget to check out Chris Lysy's hilarious cartooning of the conference.

Enjoy,

James & Kylie

   

The Changing Role of Evaluators: Reflections from the CES2103 Conference

Are you a technical specialist, or a social change agent?  Or as Dan Wilson at the Ontario Trillium Foundation says, "Are you part of the Rebel Alliance, or a Jedi Knight?" 

In this episode, we discuss the changing role of evaluators based on provocative keynotes from Hallie Preskill and John Gargani the CES2013 conference in Toronto. 

As promised, here are some of the links we discussed:

• Jane Davidson's ebook, Actionable Evaluation Basics: Getting succinct answers to the most important questions
• Stephanie Evergreen's webinars and book
• SROI Canada

 
John Gargani's Evaluator Doll                  John Gargani's slide on evaluators as social change agents.


 
Jane Davidson discovers Tim Horton's.    Anita Myers using data clicker at final plenary.

Don't forget to tell us your likes and dislikes!

James & Kylie

AEA 2012 Conference Interviews & Debrief

Neither James nor I were able to make this year's AEA conference :( ... so in this episode we chat with our most excellent reporters on the ground, Pat Mueller and Amy Germuth. You'll hear their personal highlights of the conference as well as the views of various attendees on what was hot and major take-aways. What was YOUR major take-away from the conference? Leave us a comment below. Cheers, Kylie & James

AEA2012 Conference Preview with Susan Kistler

Our special guest for this episode is Susan Kistler, Executive Director for the American Evaluation Association, who gives us a sneak preview into this year's upcoming conference (Oct. 22 - 27, 2012) as well as some tips for both newbies and the seasoned attendee. AEA2012 Conference Website Enjoy, James & Kylie