When the CES 2017 call for presentations was released, our team quickly recognised the conference themes of innovation, action, and reflection within our lived experiences of conducting an internal evaluation of a communicable disease program restructuring initiative in BC’s regional Fraser Health Authority.
Tag Archives: innovation
The CES 2017 Fellows & Entrants Session: Come Speed Network! by Michelle Naimi
The 2016 conference in St. John’s, NL, was the first national CES conference I had ever attended and while there were many interesting presentations, one of the sessions that left me the most excited was the Fellows & Entrants Strand. The idea behind the development of this F&E Strand was to co-construct a space for Entrants (those who are new to the field) to engage with Fellows (senior evaluators with distinguished contributions to the field) – and engage we did! Continue reading
Introducing c2017 Conference Elder Roberta Price by Chris Lovato and Sarah Farina, Conference Co-Chairs
We are honoured that Elder Roberta Price will join the CES c2017 as the Conference Elder. She is a member of the Coast Salish peoples and was an Elder Advisor for the 2015 CES BC & Yukon Evaluation Society Conference. She is an Elder Advisor and research partner at the University of British Columbia and participates in many other community projects. Continue reading
Evaluation Can Be Influential in Creating Change By Kim van der Woerd
My name is Kim van der Woerd, I’m a member of the ‘Namgis First Nation of Alert Bay, BC, and have been doing program evaluation work for over 20 years. I own and have run an all-Indigenous consulting firm called Reciprocal Consulting, for the past 14 years. I’m excited we are holding this year’s CES conference in Vancouver, the unceded homelands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Wau-tuth peoples. Continue reading
Three Quickie Tips to Rock Your CES2017 Presentation by Kylie Hutchinson
There’s been a quiet revolution in conference presentations over the past ten years, and it’s all in the name of learning and knowledge translation. Gone are the days of banging out a deck of slides using a canned Power Point template or one covered with an organization’s logo and a list of six bullet points per slide. Nowadays, savvy presenters are putting a more thought and innovation into their presentations in order to better engage audiences and communicate their key messages. Many millennials seem to understand this new era of communication and design intuitively, while many of us from other generations are still learning.
Don’t let your great content get lost in a lacklustre presentation! Here are three quickie tips to rock your CES2017 presentation. Continue reading
Inspiration from Marrakesh by Sarah Farina
The well-organized and visionary Francophone evaluation network (RFE) conference in Marrakesh was an inspiration for me as Co-Chair of this year’s Canadian Evaluation Society Conference. I had the good fortune to connect with the President of host organization Moroccan Evaluation Association, Jamal Ramdane, Jean-Marie Loncle from the Francophone evaluation network, and Program Coordinator Mouna el Ghormli from the Moroccan Evaluation Association, who gracefully shared their insights on organizing a successful conference with me. Continue reading
Get Social at CES Vancouver by Danielle Simpson
There are many academic reasons to attend CES Vancouver but the social activities will guarantee to be a highlight of your trip. Whether it is taking in the sights and sounds of beautiful Vancouver, chatting with a new acquaintance at morning exercises, or catching up with old colleagues at the evaluator dinners, this conference has something for everyone. Continue reading
Evaluation Over the Years by Kylie Hutchinson, Keynote Speaker
Some conference themes resonate with me more than others. When I saw this one I thought, “Yes!” Innovation, action, and reflection are all things that have been on my mind lately as an evaluator. Let me tell you why.
I took my first evaluation course in 1988 and went out on my own as an independent consultant in 1998. So as you can imagine I have a few years to reflect on. My first CES conference was Toronto 1990. For years it seemed to me there was nothing new in evaluation, and probably for good reason. We were still a young, relatively new profession and everyone was busy building our reputation and seeking acceptance. Fast forward to 2005-2006 and things seemed to really take off. Now everywhere I look I see innovation being introduced into the field, and it’s very exciting. From boundary-pushing reports to previously unthinkable forms of data collection, the times they are a changin’. Sometimes it freaks me out as I try to keep up, but it’s still exciting. Continue reading
CES Vancouver after AEA Atlanta: From a Student Perspective by Graham Shaw
The American Evaluation Association Conference in 2016 was big. Atlanta was my second AEA conference and with 50 concurrent sessions, I was never going to get to half of the presentations I wanted to see. At my first conference in 2015 I was excited to see the famous people whose articles I had been reading as a student and I was drawn to sessions by Tom Schwandt, Michael Quinn Patton, Beverley Parsons, Michael Scriven and George Grob. This time I decided to prioritize sessions related to my research and I ended up joining the Advocacy and Policy-Change Topical Interest group. It was great to meet people exploring similar questions and sharing their understandings from interdisciplinary theory and practical experience.
Sharing and Connecting: Innovation at CES 2017 by Brian Hoessler
It’s most definitely fall in Saskatoon – nights dip below freezing, the trees have shed most of their leaves, and it’s only a matter of time before the snow hits1. Another sign of fall? Upcoming due dates to submit presentations for conferences, including the Canadian Evaluation Society’s 2017 conference in Vancouver.
Earlier this year, I wrote about the conference and its theme of Facing Forward: Innovation, Action, and Reflection. Today, I’d like to focus on Innovation – but instead of looking at innovation in evaluation, let’s talk innovation in conferences. My experiences at evaluation conferences (both in Canada and south of the border) have been overwhelmingly positive: at the same time, I’m aware that these events can be criticized for not being the most effective use of time and resources. Indeed, there are numerous ways today that we can learn from others without having to leave the comfort of home – including blogs such as this one! As a result, it’s a legitimate question to ask whether it’s worth spending hundreds of dollars (if not thousands, when you account for travel and accommodations) to make the trip. Continue reading