The 2020 call for blog posts by Sheila B. Robinson

Greetings aea365 readers AND authors! I’m Sheila B Robinson, Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor. Just last week, I wrote this post asking what you would like to read on aea365 in 2020.

Thanks to those who offered these ideas! Now, I’m writing to ask YOU to consider contributing on one of these, or any other evaluation-related topics.

Lesson Learned: Readers suggestions include:

  • “success stories” from local affiliates on what they do that works: draws folks in, inspires folks to join/participate, etc.
  • equitable evaluation. How to challenge the field of evaluation itself.
  • how to increase participant ownership and redistribute power.
  • innovative data visualization and presentation, especially for qualitative data.
  • how organizations can work within often rigid external funder requirements to design and conduct appropriate evaluations for novel or untested programs (applying developmental evaluation, for instance).
  • the use of qualitative data in evaluation. Growth in technology and access to qualitative data means we better and easier ways to collect information.
  • ways to present qualitative data in brain-compatible ways.
  • iterative and systems practice evaluation methods for continuous adaptation of interventions, as well as the resources and processes that help to facilitate this kind of learning as we go, especially when multiple stakeholders are engaged. 
  • tips about creating an elevator pitch about “evaluation” generally and a tailored pitch about what I do as an evaluation consultant.

Hot Tip: We’d love to hear from YOU!  Please send a draft for consideration.

Hot Tip: You don’t have to be an expert to contribute! Readers want to hear from everyday evaluators. You don’t need to be doing something unusual or cutting edge. Share how a strategy has worked for you. Share what you’re learning about and experimenting with. Share a lesson you’ve learned. Tell about a book you’ve read, a course you took, or an experience that gave you new insight.

Cool Trick: Follow contribution guidelines! See the link right up there…near the top of your screen? We can only publish posts that adhere to these guidelines.

Get Involved: It’s time to share YOUR insights with aea365 readers! We rely on hundreds of generous authors who have contributed over the past 10 years (!) to keep this blog going. As you can imagine, collecting 365 articles each year is no small task.

Is this the year YOU decide to contribute?

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.

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