Greetings evaluator friends and colleagues! I’m Sheila B Robinson, AEA365 Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor, coming to you on Friday this time, and already starting to reflect on Evaluation 2019 as it nears its close. Many of us arrived in Minneapolis, MN for pre-conference workshops on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, and others streamed in just ahead of the opening plenary on Wednesday afternoon. As usual, we’ve already had a stellar line-up of sessions.
We’ve braved the cold and snow here in Minnesota but also enjoyed some blue sky and sunshine. While many of us appreciated the indoor skyway that allowed us to travel comfortably from several hotels to and from the Convention Center, some of us also found ourselves a bit lost in the labyrinthian pathways that make up the largest, contiguous system of enclosed, second level bridges in the world covering 9.5 miles of connecting 80 city blocks. It’s truly an amazing city feature. For those of us counting daily steps, we had no problem reaching our goals!
Hot Tip: Check out the #Eval19 hashtag on Twitter (and even on Instagram!) for social media savvy posters who are sharing nuggets of wisdom from sessions. It’s a great way to catch up on sessions you missed, or review ones you attended. Many post pictures of slides and handouts as well.
Cool Trick: It’s not too early to plan for #Eval20 in Portland Oregon! And if you’re a real planner, you can even add the dates for #Eval21 in Washington, DC to your calendar!
Cooler trick: What do you do with all the business cards you collect at the conference? I learned years ago to make a few notes, especially if the back is blank. I jot down where I met the person and a little bit about what we talked about. Some people scan the cards and keep them filed electronically. Others, like me, may keep them in folders, boxes or bins marked Evaluation 2019.
Rad Resource: Check in with the AEA Public eLibrary where some Evaluation 2019 presenters may upload materials.
Wishing all conference attendees safe travels home!
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.