AEA365 Contributor, Curated by Elizabeth DiLuzio

Hello! We are Nisaa Kirtman, Vidhya Shanker, and Elizabeth Taylor-Schiro – Co-Chairs of AEA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group. This Summer marks two years of our group working collectively, intentionally, and systematically to critically examine and build capacity for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of AEA’s policies, programming, and practices. This week …

DEI Working Group Week: AEA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group Week: A Re-Introduction by Nisaa Kirtman, Vidhya Shanker and Elizabeth Taylor-Schiro Read More »

Hello, my name is Jennifer Borland. I have been actively working in the field of evaluation for more than 25 years. Aside from the internet itself, I’m hard pressed to think of another technology that will have as great an impact on the field of evaluation as generative AI is likely to have.

Hello! My name is Mindy Hightower King. I am the founder of Limelight Analytics LLC, a measurement and evaluation firm located in Bloomington, Indiana, that conducts research and evaluation on behalf of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and foundations.

Many of our clients are readily embracing opportunities to return to in-person meetings and conferences (we embrace this, too!). We also find there are still some very compelling reasons to engage, learn, and share ideas in online forums. If you find yourself sharing data in online meetings or convenings, and you are interested in creative ways to engage your audience, then this blog post is for you!

When I attend a community impact meeting, sometimes, I remember to sign in.

I’m Kyle Hannon with Filibuster Press, a community development and book publishing consultancy. When I’m involved with a community meeting, we have a sign-in sheet to keep a record of who is there. From across the room, I will see people who walk into the meeting, usually after the meeting has started, and walk right past the sign-in sheet. How could they do that? Don’t they know it is important for record keeping (grant reporting) that we know how many people were at the meeting?

Hello, my name is Jennifer Borland. I am the Director of Research Programs at Rockman et al Cooperative, a research and evaluation firm that specializes in the evaluation of educational programs and media in formal and informal settings. I’ve been working in the field of evaluation for more than 25 years but a constant over that entire period has been my continued interest in finding creative new strategies and inspirations. 

Hello, I’m Jacqueline Singh, MPP, PhD (she/her), an evaluator and program design advisor based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Throughout my career, I’ve held roles as an internal and external evaluator, and higher education researcher. I’ve taken on program design responsibilities within non-profit organizations, government agencies, and higher education institutions. Regardless of the setting, I’ve held a strong interest in policy and focused on the context and design of programs that align with specific policies to facilitate the fidelity of their implementation.

Hope you’re having a good week! I am Karen Breece, an internal evaluator for Conner Prairie Museum in Fishers, Indiana. Have you ever wondered about developing a theory of change for your organization, or even a department within your organization? I did.

I was working with a department that was starting a lot of new programming. They had a need for a cohesive vision to express with they were wanting to do with the rest of the organization, with each other, and with funders. The beauty of a Theory of Change is that it succinctly connects programming with intended impact, and I felt this was the perfect opportunity to try creating one.

Hi, I’m Jennifer Borland. As the president of the Indiana Evaluation Association (IEA) I’m excited to kick off a week of posts from our members. We know Indiana is likely on the minds of AEA365 blog readers since many will be coming to our state for the AEA Evaluation Conference this year. And while the conference is sure to be amazing, I’m eager to let readers about the great work that IEA does year-round to offer evaluation-related information and resources to members–both in and outside of Indiana.

G’day, I’m Gerard Atkinson, a Director at ARTD Consultants, an Australian evaluation consulting firm. Most of my team work and live on the unceded lands of the peoples of the Eora Nation (Sydney), but I live and work on the unceded lands of the Eastern Maar peoples in Warrnambool. I acknowledge their unbroken connection to country and culture and pay my respects to elders past and present. I’m here to talk about rubrics and how you can use them to create clear and accountable evaluations.

Hi, I’m Burt Perrin and I’d like you to think about how people really react to evidence. In particular, I will highlight the backfire effect that refers to the reality that when facts are presented that show that one’s cherished beliefs are wrong, instead of people changing these (incorrect) beliefs, they become even stronger. This has profound implications for evaluation, with the predominant view still that the role of evaluation is to produce evidence.