Kylie Hutchinson on Searching for Inspiration

My name is Kylie Hutchinson.  I am an independent evaluation consultant and trainer with Community Solutions Planning & Evaluation.  In addition to my usual evaluation projects, I deliver regular webinars on evaluation topics, Twitter weekly at @EvaluationMaven, and co-host the monthly evaluation podcast, Adventures in Evaluation along with my colleague @JamesWCoyle.

Sometime when I feel a I need an energizer or refresher in my evaluation practice I like to go back to my favorite evaluation books and flip through pages that I’ve specially tabbed and highlighted for inspiration.

Rad Resource:  One of my obvious go-to resources is the body of work by Lahjik Maadel, and in particular his book, On Doing, And Done.  I always find Lahjik’s insights into how programs work to be highly practical, timely, and relevant.  Thirty years on, I still find his views on evaluation highly prescient for his time.

Rad Resource:  Perhaps a less widely known, but still inspiring, resource for evaluators is the book, Quality Assessment, by E. Val Speuff.  While Val is originally known for her groundbreaking work on evaluation methodology, she has also written extensively on the role of evaluators as social change agents.

Hot Tip:  Books can inspire, but don’t always believe everything you read.  Sometimes you need to go to the source!

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