Calling all aea365 readers: What do YOU want to read more about in 2021? by Sheila B Robinson

Hello Loyal aea365 readers! I’m Sheila B Robinson, aea365’s Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor with one question for you: What is it that YOU would like to read about on this blog?

I first posted this article in 2015 (and every year since) and we receive excellent responses from readers each time it is published. I typically share responses in a subsequent post and as a result we receive blog articles on some of the suggested topics from authors willing to answer the call. Here we go again with some minor updates to reflect the times:

Lesson Learned: 

AEA365 has been going steadily since January 1, 2010 with 3900+ contributions (Wow!) from hundreds of evaluators across the globe. We accept individual submissions at aea365@eval.org on a rolling basis, along with inquiries about sponsored or themed weeks. Posts are about any and all evaluation-related topics, and anyone with something to share with fellow evaluators is welcome to contribute! If you are interested in sharing a tip, please be sure to check out our *updated* contribution guidelines here.

As a key learning tool for evaluation, aea365 can also be a fabulous vehicle for promoting evaluation and evidence-based policy. With that in mind, we would like to include your voice as we head into the new year as our aea365 team considers inviting authors and groups to contribute.

Hot Tip:

Let’s crowdsource some ideas for aea365 in 2021 and make it the best year ever.

Please let us know what you would like to see in aea365 by responding to these questions in the comments (click the word “Comments” just under the title of the post and scroll down to add yours*):

1. What do YOU want to read or learn more about on aea365 in 2021?

2. Who do YOU want to hear from on this blog?

Thanks very much for your input and your loyal readership.

*Please note that your comments may not appear immediately, but rest assured, we will see them! An aea365 curator must approve incoming comments before they appear publicly.

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.

11 thoughts on “Calling all aea365 readers: What do YOU want to read more about in 2021? by Sheila B Robinson”

  1. I’ve enjoyed so many great posts this year, including the ones that address equity. I would like to learn more about how evaluators identify their audiences and how they build the evaluation from start to finish with that audience in mind. (Sometimes I get the impression that evaluations don’t have clear audiences and I think that’s a huge risk if we want evaluations that are useful.)

  2. Topic Suggestions:
    – Evaluating program or organization resilience before the next crisis hits.
    – OKRs, just a fad? Or a good framework for evaluating outcomes?
    – What’s new (or old and still relevant) with the Baldrige Criteria.
    – Visualization and storytelling to communicate evaluation results

  3. I learn so much from this blog! I don’t have suggestions for topics because I like reading about a range of evaluation work. The posts that are most useful to me are the shorter ones that summarize key take-aways and include links to other resources that I can use for greater depth.

  4. Giovanna Montagner

    I would like to read more about work-life balance for evaluators (especially, but not only, during the pandemic). How can we work in a way that fosters well being and inclusion in evaluation teams, taking into account the diverse needs of people and their care responsibilities? It would be great to read some experiences/examples/tips from evaluators in the AEA community.
    Giovanna Montagner
    Evaluation Consultant (Mexico)

  5. More on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Allyship training, strategic plans for diversity and inclusion (at the federal level they are DISPs – are there other such efforts within governments? What are good approaches to measuring success?), addressing systemic racism with an un-convinced crowd, etc.

  6. I’m with Fabiola–more “how to” I just heard about focus groups with youth done by a 50-year old man who had marvelous skills. Engaging, made sure all were heard, safety….and the kids really liked him. I wasn’t involved in the groups just heard about them second hand. Everyone remarked on how forthcoming the youth were with him. He engaged them and they trusted him.
    Ann Del Vecchio
    Alpha Assessment Associates, LLC

    1. Great, Ann! I wonder if those focus groups were in-person or online. There is a new challenge for us as evaluators in adapting evaluation methods and tools to on-line technologies. We have just had an experience with on-line focus groups with adolescents using the educational tool Nearpod, and I must say it was a success! Young men and women were able to express their voices through didactic ways from different countries, which generated a rich exchange of ideas.

  7. A “Performance Management and Reviews For Evaluators Week” that provides recommendations on how evaluators should complete their performance reviews for jobs or contracts would benefit the AEA365 community. This weekly theme could include managers, customers, and instructors of evaluation who discuss common pitfalls of measuring or completing evaluation performance reviews in corporate, government, and non-profit environments. One sample entry could provide sample phrases for evaluators to describe different performance levels that range from “adequately performing job duties or contracted responsibilities to exceeds jobs duties or contracted responsibilities.” These resources exist for business managers or lab-based scientists but are nearly non-existent for evaluation scientists.

  8. Hi, Sheila, thank you for this opportunity. I have enjoyed AEA365 over the years and have it as a reference in many instances, from writing blogs on specific themes using citations of AEA365 blogs, to following my favorite evaluators around the globe.
    For 2021, I would like to see more articles on the “how to…” (methodologies, approaches, case studies, tools, etc.) from the “real world”.
    Best,
    Fabiola Amariles
    Learning for Impact, Corp.

  9. I’d love to hear more about CREE (culturally-responsive and equitable evaluation) and about anti-racist evaluation theory & practice. Also interested in ways to adapt participatory methodologies for virtual spaces. I loved the series on focus groups & interviews, and would like to see something similar for other types of qualitative methods (new and old).

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