Hi, AEA365ers! I’m Evan Poncelet, REAL Evaluation Fellow at the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation in Halifax, Canada. Last year, as a young and emerging evaluator, I decided to seek out a mentor through the Canadian Evaluation Society’s mentoring initiative. Fast forward to the present day: I recently concluded my mentorship, which was a fantastic experience. I feel that such an experience should be open to all newcomers to the field. But what mentorship opportunities are available?
Rad Resource: List of evaluation mentoring initiatives.
- International: DM&E for Peace
- International: EvalYouth (not currently accepting applications; stay tuned to EvalYouth for updates)
- Canada: Canadian Evaluation Society
- Georgia (United States): CDC Evaluation Fellowship
- Maryland (United States): Leadership in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (currently in its final year, but there are plans for the program to continue at another site)
- C. (United States): Mentor Minutes
As additional mentoring initiatives emerge, this list will be updated here.
Hot Tip: Mentorships vary.
There are differences in factors like eligibility criteria, program goals, and expected time commitment. So, be sure to review the specifics of an initiative before diving into an application.
Hot Tip: Informal mentorships are another option.
Many evaluators receive mentoring outside of formal initiatives. If interested, consider getting in touch with an experienced evaluator as many are eager to help mentor the field’s future professionals. You can reach evaluators through local firms and business, evaluation programs at educational institutions, voluntary organizations for program evaluation, or social media platforms such as Twitter (try #eval, #evaluation, or #EvalTwitter).
Lesson Learned: Mentoring initiatives can help to establish your identity as a professional.
Some commonly cited benefits of mentorships (for both mentors and mentees) include increased skills and knowledge, expanded professional networks, and encountering new perspectives (more can be found at Better Evaluation).
I can offer anecdotal evidence that, yes, these benefits are real. However, perhaps the most salient outcome for me – one I don’t often see listed – was forming a stronger identity as an evaluator. Just knowing that I had a professional relationship with an experienced, respected, and skilled evaluator made me feel like I was part of the “in-group” of evaluators and on the right career track. What’s the old adage – it’s not just what you know, but who you know?
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.