Blog

Networking at the CES Conference by Harry Cummings, President, Canadian Evaluation Society

In my long career as an evaluator I have found networking to be the most rewarding way to expand my evaluation contacts and knowledge. And the ultimate networking opportunity for Canadian evaluation work is the CES annual conference. This year we’ll be meeting in the beautiful city of Vancouver. Continue reading

Social Innovation meets Public Sector – Developmental Evaluation Guides Transformation by Dr. Keiko Kuji-Shikatani (CE) & Ms Megan Börner

What does it mean to conduct evaluation processes and practices in the public sector in the 21st century? It means measuring and monitoring a moving target when complexity, adaptation, and innovation are the norm in providing programs and services to the changing realities of society. Processes of learning are foundational to developmental evaluation (DE) to support social innovation and program development. Continue reading

National M&E Stakeholders’ Assessment in Afghanistan by Samandar Mahmodi

This presentation, submitted by Samandar Mahmodi, provides a good example of how the principles of monitoring and evaluation are being applied in Afghanistan to improve the effectiveness of government programs and policies. It gives you a taste of the broad scope of contexts that will be highlighted during the conference. Samandar is Founder of the Afghan Evaluation Society and co-authored the National RBME Policy Framework for Afghanistan.  We are looking forward to welcoming him and all our other international guests to the Vancouver Conference!  Continue reading

Why I Love Pre-conference Workshops! by Beth Snow

Over the years, I’ve learned that evaluation pre-conference workshops are a great way to advance my skills. I’ve participated and led workshops at different evaluation conferences and through these experiences, I’ve met many new colleagues who have shared tips, successes, and failures that have all been very valuable to me. I’ve learned about – and tried out – new tools and ideas that I’ve been able to apply to my evaluation practice. 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

Marc Tourigny wins the c2017 earlybird prize!

Marc Tourigny

Marc Tourigny, Professor at the University of Sherbrooke, has won a free stay at the Westin Bayshore hotel during the conference. All earlybird registrants were entered into a draw.

Marc talked to us about the aspect of the conference that most appeals to him. He said that for him, the c2017 conference is a chance to take the time to step back and reflect on program evaluation, particularly in an intercultural context.  The theme of “Reflection” is of great interest to him.

The c2017 would like to thank all earlybird registrants, and congratulate Marc Tourigny!

Announcing the Fellows’ Plenary Panel – Pushing Forward: With or Without Evaluation by Natalie Kishchuk

The Fellowship of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) is made up of individuals who have been recognized by CES for their lifetime achievements, service and prominence in evaluation. Since its inception in 2003, 23 individuals have received the CES Fellowship. One of the Fellowship’s roles is to provide leadership and collective experience, including at CES national conferences. Starting in 2015, the Fellows began organizing a special strand within the conference, bringing together recognized leaders to address timely and often controversial issues in the field of evaluation.

We are delighted to announce this year’s Fellows Plenary Panel, to be held on Tuesday May 2nd, 2017. We believe it will deliver a critical, edgy perspective, and stimulate dialogue at the conference and beyond. Continue reading

Worth the Journey: Reflections on Evaluation from the other Coast by Craig Moore

Now or Never: An Urgent Call to Action for Nova Scotians, the title of a report released in 2014 by the One Nova Scotia Commission called attention for the need for “Facing Forward” in the province. “Facing Forward” in this report called for a new way of doing business in the province to ensure a sustainable future. After reading “Now or Never” I decided to move back to my home province to start using my evaluation skills to try to help wherever I am needed (see my #EvaluatorOriginStory blog post http://www.craigmoorenovascotia.com/news/nova-scotia-evaluator-origin-story/). For me this report represented a personal call to action. Continue reading

Future of Evaluation: Emerging Evaluators on the Horizon by Carolyn Camman

In December I had the opportunity to moderate a breakfast club event organized by the local chapters for the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES-BCY) and the Institute of Public Administration Canada (IPAC Vancouver). The theme was next year’s CES 2017 Conference theme: Facing Forward: Innovation, Action and Reflection. Continue reading