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AEA’s Digital Data & Technology Working Group Week: (Re)shaping Evaluation with Insights from the MERL Tech Community by Linda Raftree

Hi all, I’m Linda Raftree and I have been leading the MERL Tech community of practice since 2014. MERL Tech is a term we use to describe technology-enabled Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL). Our vision is a world where the use of digital tools, technologies, and data for MERL in humanitarian, development, human rights, peacebuilding, and social impact programming is inclusive, ethical, responsible, safe, and sustainable.

RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Finding Out How Programs Actually Use Evaluation by Michael Harnar and Zach Tilton

Hi, we are Michael Harnar and Zach Tilton, Co-Principal Investigator on the EvaluATE grant and Doctoral Research Associate, respectively. Our research-on-evaluation (RoE) study investigates evaluation use in NSF’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. ATE grantees spend an average of 8 percent of their grant budgets on evaluation—almost $5 million annually. With so much evidence of …

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RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Smoothing the Evaluator Procurement Process by Mike Lesiecki

I’m Mike Lesiecki, with EvaluATE, the evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. With colleagues at EvaluATE, I’ve been conducting research on how PIs in the ATE program select and contract with evaluators. This research-on-evaluation (RoE) study looks at a problem common to many institutional grantseekers and evaluators: Funders, PIs, …

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RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Analyzing Unstructured Evaluation Data by Larry Mallak and Nolen Akerman

Hi! We’re the team behind a sentiment analysis study of EvaluATE’s open-ended survey responses. Larry is a professor of engineering management at WMU, and Nolen is a former Fortune 500 data scientist consulting on data analytics projects. EvaluATE hosts webinars and workshops about evaluation topics, and attendees submit feedback in the form of open- and …

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RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Keeping Participants Involved in Long-term Studies by Kelly Robertson and Lori Wingate

We’re Kelly Robertson and Lori Wingate from The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University. We are part of EvaluATE, the evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. Our recent research on evaluation (RoE) study involved collecting data from participants weekly and monthly over the course of a year, and we’re …

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RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Defining and Measuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Ayesha Boyce and Tiffany Tovey

Hello! We are Ayesha Boyce (Arizona State University) and Tiffany Tovey (UNC Greensboro). This year, we’ve been working with Ph.D. students Jeremy Acree (UNCG), Onyinyechukwu Onwuka (UNCG), and Neelakshi Tewari (ASU) to investigate the feasibility of measuring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) ATE program using indicators recommended by the …

RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Defining and Measuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Ayesha Boyce and Tiffany Tovey Read More »

RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Using Evaluation Plans to Study Evaluation Capacity by Lori Wingate, Kelly Robertson, Lana Rucks, and Michael FitzGerald

We are Lori Wingate and Kelly Robertson of The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University (WMU) and Michael FitzGerald and Lana Rucks of The Rucks Group (TRG). We collaborated on a study of the impact of the evaluation capacity-strengthening efforts of EvaluATE, the evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program.  In …

RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Using Evaluation Plans to Study Evaluation Capacity by Lori Wingate, Kelly Robertson, Lana Rucks, and Michael FitzGerald Read More »

RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Funding Your Research on Evaluation Initiatives by Megan Zelinsky and Lyssa Wilson Becho

Hello! We are Megan and Lyssa from EvaluATE, the evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. NSF’s ATE program aims to promote the development of innovative programs for the education of technicians in the high-technology fields. EvaluATE enhances evaluation capacity in the ATE community, including among project staff, evaluators, …

RoE TIG Week with EvaluATE: Funding Your Research on Evaluation Initiatives by Megan Zelinsky and Lyssa Wilson Becho Read More »

Locally-led MEL Week: A Loop, not a Line: Engaging Beneficiaries in Dissemination and Feedback by Brooke Hill

My name is Brooke Hill and I am an international development evaluation expert, with a focus on large-scale quantitative surveys throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In a typical evaluation, my workplan includes at least one dissemination and feedback workshop. Participants typically include the client or donor, government officials, and sector experts. While these …

Locally-led MEL Week: A Loop, not a Line: Engaging Beneficiaries in Dissemination and Feedback by Brooke Hill Read More »