Meeting the Moment by Elizabeth Grim

Hi all! Elizabeth Grim here. AEA365 volunteer curator, this week – frequent AEA365 blogger, and Founder and Principal Consultant of Elizabeth Grim Consulting, LLC.

It’s AEA conference week! Will you be attending the conference virtually from your living room, gathering with colleagues for an office watch party, or engaging with the chatter on social media?  Regardless of whether or how you’re attending #Eval21, I think we can agree that we have a moment to celebrate – AEA is 35!

To celebrate the organization’s history, AEA is both reflecting on the past and looking towards the future through this year’s conference theme of “Meeting the Moment.” According to AEA, this is an “opportunity to recognize the realities of today’s uncertain times, to share what you have learned, to talk about opportunities and missed opportunities and to examine how evaluators are transforming practice to meet the complex challenges of the moment.”

How are you meeting the moment?

Here are what a couple of our colleagues said in response to that question:

Tweet from Joanna Prout, PhD (she/her) that says, "shifting to an approach that draws knowledge and wisdom from many sources! Not easy but we can do it."
Tweet from Mark Mulobi that says, "Young and Emerging Evaluators are not the future but rather, they are the present to ensure a sustainable world 
@msegone @danawanzer @Eval_Youth @AfrEA_YEE #Eval #Eval4Action."

Rad Resources

One way to understand history and look to the future is through reflective practice. Here are a few AEA365 blogs from this year that talk about using reflective practice in our work:

Looking to continue the conversation about Meeting the Moment beyond #Eval21? The Eastern Evaluation Research Society is hosting their virtual conference in April 2022 all about the theme of Rethinking Evidence. Proposal submissions are open through November 28, 2021. So repurpose your #Eval21 content or submit something new to join the event.


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. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.

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