Irene Marconi on 10 Great Twitter Feeds for Evaluators

Welcome fellow researchers! My name is Irene Marconi and I recently began using Twitter as part of my own professional learning to create a specialized listing for myself consisting of just people who tend to share items that I want to learn more about. I am sharing below my list of those that are related to my evaluation work in hopes that you will share others as well and then I can add them to my list. These are the ones that I have found to be most useful.

Rad Resource: 10 great twitter feeds to follow for evaluators

1. @aeaweb: of course! aeaweb is the American Evaluation Association’s Headlines and Resources list. aeaweb puts out 3-5 tweets most days, with one of them announcing the day’s aea365 post. About one-thirdof aeaweb’s posts are AEA-related, the rest are related to other resources.
2. @3ieNews: This is the twitter arm of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). Posts often come in groups after multi-day lulls, and include international evaluation job openings. Of particular interest to international evaluators, and those working in NGOs.
3. @MandE_News: Run by Rick Davies, this is  second must-follow for international evaluators. It is an offshoot of his Monitoring and Evaluation NEWS website. Great resources and reviews of reports and such (although these can be delayed).
4. @MEASURE_Eval:A supplement to their website, Measure Evaluation is USAID Global Health Bureau’s avenue for supporting improvements in monitoring and evaluation in population, health and nutrition worldwide. Posts come in fits and starts, averaging about 1 a day.
5. @KD_Eval: This is the evaluation-focused twitter feed of Katherine Dawes at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Dual focus on evaluation and environmental issues, and mostly the intersection of the two.
6. @jdeancoffey: Jara Dean Coffey runs a small consulting business in California and tweets primarily about evaluation, leadership development, and social change. Of likely particular interest to consultants and nonprofits, she is an avid tweeter, sometimes you’ll see 10 or more tweets a day.
7. @Philanthropy: If you work with foundations, this twitter feed from the Chronicle of Philanthropy is a reliable source of great information. It regularly includes items regarding the impact of philanthropy. Multiple tweets on a daily basis cover all areas of philanthropy.
8. @isaac_outcomes: Isaac Castillo is the Director of Learning and Evaluation at the Latin American Youth Center in Washington DC. His posts regularly share data sources and news related to measurement, evaluation, and impact for children and youth.
9. @usgao: The official twitter feed from the United States Government Accountability Office, their content announces new reports, news items, podcasts, and US federal accountability issues.
10. @InventivoDesign: Stephanie Fuentes is an evaluator who consistently shares thought provoking resources and reflections. Among my very favorites, I’m surprised she doesn’t have more followers – her content is really appropriate for anyone doing applied research.

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. Want to hear more from Judy and Terri? Attend their session at AEA’s Annual Conference this November – Evaluation 2011. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.