LAWG Week: Evaluation Without Borders: Giving Back During Evaluation 2017 by Giovanni Dazzo

Hi, I’m Giovanni Dazzo, Program Committee Chair for Washington Evaluators (WE) and Chair of the Local Arrangements Working Group for Evaluation 2017.

Last year at Evaluation 2016 in Atlanta, we learned that the Atlanta-area Evaluation Association (AaEA) piloted a pro bono evaluation program. This program connects AaEA members with nonprofits in their area by offering in-kind program planning and evaluation services. Many professional associations also have similar groups, such as the American Statistical Association’s Statistics Without Borders program, which connects statisticians that can provide pro bono services in statistics and data science to organizations that may not have access to these resources.

In the spirit of the Evaluation 2017 theme, ‘From Learning to Action’, Washington Evaluators would like to continue building on the momentum of AeEA’s great program with a new initiative for this year’s conference: Evaluation Without Borders.

This pilot initiative seeks to connect conference attendees with local community-based organizations in need of program planning, measurement and evaluation services. While conferences, and evaluation research, can often be extractive in nature, this effort aims to connect conference-goers in a way where they can meaningfully connect and give back to the Washington, DC community.

In line with AEA’s goals, we hope to not only create opportunities where local nonprofits can begin to build their knowledge and skills to engage in evaluation, but to also create opportunities where evaluators can learn more about Washington, DC and the extraordinary work of those contributing to its vibrant communities.

Rad Resources:

Why not take an extra day off from work and get involved? We’ve created a form on the WE website for those interested in volunteering. Just let us know a bit about your professional experience, program planning and evaluation skills, and volunteer interests. We’ll be scheduling pro bono consultations for November 6-7, but do let us know if you’re interested in volunteering the weeks before or after the conference. We’ll then start the volunteer matching process, so you have enough time to plan your trip for Evaluation 2017.

We’re looking forward to November and the Evaluation 2017 annual conference all this week with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). 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 contribute to aea365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to aea365@eval.org.