Hi, fellow evaluators! I’m Jess Chandler, a consultant at Energy Market Innovations, a small firm primarily focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy program evaluation.
Rad Resource – jessachandler.com: This blog is a combination of several voices of me, from personal concerns to evaluation methods. The content here has adapted over time and has only recently been more focused on evaluation. I’d also invite folks to check out The Oil Drum and The Energy Collective, two great energy focused blogs that sometimes reflect upon evaluation.
Hot Tips – favorite posts: I find that I am more enamored with posts of other evaluators than my own, but here are a few posts that I like:
- 10/4/2012 – More better Better Evaluation: This is a quick post about the revamped Better Evaluation site. The folks at Better Evaluation are doing great work to collect and distribute evaluation ideas. I also couldn’t resist the opportunity to encourage more front-end work on evaluation.
- 9/3/2011—A more meaningful regression analysis: This post also redirects readers to another blog, but I love sharing resources like this that can help people. Methods are so necessary!
- 2/3/2010 – Energy Efficiency Potential: This post considers the value of energy efficiency potential studies, which are critically important, but can be completed prematurely in the planning cycle—I propose a two stage process here. Outside of efficiency, other planning or forecasting exercises may face similar constraints.
Lessons Learned – why I blog: I’m certainly not an example of what I see as an ideal blogger (yet) – someone who consistently posts new and exciting content. I sometimes tweet about something and never remember to update my blog. I blog because:
- I love to share great resources with colleagues and friends
- The outlet is an ideal place to test out ideas and let them gel
- It provides a record of thoughts over time, and is helpful for reflection on changing ideas
Lessons Learned – what I’ve learned: The big picture: Blogging is real work. However, I have learned that I get about as much out of blogging as I put in. I love to hear from people who are interested in my tweets and blog posts.
This winter, we’re continuing our series highlighting evaluators who blog. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.