Reflecting on a Year of Learning with AEA365 by Elizabeth Grim

Hello, AEA365 community! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. This week is Individuals Week, which means we take a break from our themed weeks and spotlight the Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources and Lessons Learned from any evaluator interested in sharing. Would you like to contribute to future individuals weeks? Email me at AEA365@eval.org with an idea or a draft and we will make it happen.

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Happy holidays! This is Elizabeth Grim, AEA365 Curator (not to be confused with our fabulous Lead Curator, Liz DiLuzio). When I’m not supporting the blog, I’m working in my role as the Founder and CEO of Elizabeth Grim Consulting, where I help nonprofits and foundations align their evaluation strategies with their vision and values. Today, I’m writing to you in my role as AEA365 Curator to reflect on the past year of the blog.

If you’re a regular reader here, you know that AEA365 is a virtual space where we, as evaluators, can collectively educate, explore, and exchange ideas. This past year of AEA365 kept up that tradition, filled with inspiring contributions, rich discussions, and shared wisdom from evaluators across the globe.

Key Themes

One of AEA365’s strengths is amplifying the voices of evaluators in different stages of their careers and working in varied contexts. This year, we heard from over 450 evaluators (wow!!!), from emerging scholars to seasoned experts, representing academia, government, philanthropy, nonprofits, consulting firms, and beyond. To give you an idea of the breadth of contributors and posts, the 2024 blog weeks were coordinated by 27 Topical Interest Groups (TIGs), 15 evaluation organizations or work groups, and three Local Affiliates. We also hosted seven “individuals weeks,” inviting authors outside these groups to contribute their ideas.

Overall, AEA365 post shared unique perspectives, actionable takeaways, and a lot of rad resources, but a few popular and recurring themes stand out from 2024. These include:

• Equity and justice in evaluation
• Participatory and creative evaluation approaches
• Use of technology, AI, and machine learning
• Evaluation for learning and improvement

Voices from the Field

In particular, the posts from graduate students and emerging evaluators were a highlight. Their insights, fueled by fresh energy and curiosity, offered glimpses into the future of evaluation. Whether discussing the power of stories or the importance of understanding our positionality, new voices emphasized the importance of supporting the next generation of evaluators. You can check out 2024 weeks by new voices in the field here:

• Graduate Student and New Evaluators TIG
• Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) Week

Lessons Learned

Reflecting on the year, a few lessons stand out. Taken together, these lessons remind us that evaluation is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and that adapting our methods to context and culture can yield richer insights and foster greater trust.

1. Power of collaboration: Many posts emphasized the value of co-creation with clients, communities, or interdisciplinary teams.
2. Importance of adaptability: Contributors shared how they navigated challenges like shifting community needs and rapidly changing contexts.
3. Need for self-reflection: Examining our biases, assumptions, and positionality remains essential to producing work that is both ethical and impactful.

Thank You!

To everyone who contributed to AEA365 in 2024—as a writer, coordinator, commenter, or reader—thank you for enriching this space with your time and talents. I’m looking forward to another year of shared learning and unlearning!

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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.