Real Evaluation

05/23/2025

Interested in new applications of methodology? We did this one quite differently from the usual, by running survey results for 110 entities through a rubric-informed algorithm to generate a rating for each on the typology.

Tune in to this free webinar to check it out, and to hear how Colombia is building environmental sustainability into more and more of its decision making through sustainability-inclusive evaluation. 2030 is looming; we all need to do this!

06/21/2024

I was delighted to be able to contribute an article for this special issue of JMDE honoring Michael Scriven Evaluator's life and work!

The journal is open access and completely free - I am sure you will enjoy some of the stories!

06/06/2024

Join us in a few hours to hear how we as evaluators need to meet this moment in human and environmental history: by getting equity and sustainability on the agenda every time - without breaking the budget and without being just checkboxy about it! Yes, really! We have lots of ideas and tools you can start using now. 💡

Climate change, social equity and transformational change in evaluations: Five tools to tackle the challenges. 6 June, 4:00 PM Central European Time

https://www.globalevaluationinitiative.org/event/climate-change-social-equity-and-transformational-change-evaluations-five-tools-tackle

06/05/2024

Wow, this was a GREAT session today! Colombia's Department of National Planning shared reflections from the early part of their journey, starting to bring environmental sustainability into their evaluation work. Andy Rowe, Thomaz Chianca, and I are delighted to be alongside them on this important work! A recording of the session in Spanish, including Spanish interpretation for the English language segments, is available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDOlRCZebBA

Enfoque huella ecológica “footprint” y el caso para Colombia. 5 June, 10 AM Colombia Standard Time

This session will be run in English as well as Spanish

https://www.globalevaluationinitiative.org/es/event/enfoque-huella-ecologica-footprint-y-el-caso-para-colombia

Departamento Nacional de Planeación - DNP

06/05/2024

Excited to join this panel on Friday, and I hope many young and emerging evaluators will tune in!

📣 Speaker Update: Claudia Olavarria has joined the panel of speakers for the webinar "How Can Evaluation Change the World? Empowering Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs)"

Register -> https://www.globalevaluationinitiative.org/event/how-can-evaluation-change-world-empowering-young-and-emerging-evaluators-yees

06/03/2024

Ever wondered exactly how rubric-guided evaluative conclusions get there from the raw evidence? This project with Save the Children gave Thomaz Chianca and me the opportunity to lay that out in far more detail than we ever had before!

Join us next week for this FREE gLocal Evaluation Week webinar, where we will show you our step-by-step guide for systematically using FGD, KII, and other evidence to arrive at clear evaluative conclusions about progress. Yes, it's all available online, too!

The outcome we'll use is one of Save the Children's Child Sponsorship program's most important but also one of the most intangible: "Children are included and living free from discrimination."

Even more exciting - we have included a facilitation guide to help children make rubric-based ratings themselves, so they can be agents and trackers of change in their own communities!

The session will be conducted primarily in Portuguese, but with the main chunks translated into English (for my benefit, and yours!). Join us June 4th at 12.30pm Pacific, 3.30pm Eastern, 4.30pm Brasilia time, 9.30pm CET, which will be June 5th at 7.30am for my kiwi colleagues. Special shoutout to Nicole Dulieu at Save the Children, who has been closely involved and is overseeing the piloting and rollout of this new system!

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com.br/e/metodologia-de-rubricas-avaliativas-em-detalhe-tickets-909864538327?aff=oddtdtcreator

10/14/2023

I was so, so thrilled and honored to be there with the incredible Hazel Symonette as she received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award this year for her phenomenal contributions to evaluation theory. Long overdue recognition. She is the 36th person to receive the award, but only the 6th woman, and the very first woman of color. About damn time, AEA.

Another person who will be smiling about this from above is the man who helped set the nomination process in motion with Karen Kirkhart, the much loved and missed Stafford Hood. I was incredibly honored to be invited to write a letter of support.

Congratulations, Hazel!! ❤️

08/29/2023

A great Redwood has fallen in the Northern California forest. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tribute, MQP. ❤

Michael Scriven's 95 years on this Earth ended on March 28, 2023. This video spotlights his mammoth contributions, appreciates his enduring thought leadersh...

06/20/2023

Global Affairs Canada is infusing consideration of the into its framework to do what we ALL need to do - evaluate EVERYTHING with a dual / environment lens.

Hear all about how the Footprint Evaluation initiative helped them figure out how to make it happen - FREE online session as part of the Canadian Evaluation Society conference, this Thursday 22nd at 1pm Eastern - register for FREE now! https://c2023en.evaluationcanada.ca/program/international Better Evaluation

06/16/2023

A great summary of the gLocal week webinars, with links to some recordings, including the Footprint Evaluation sessions that Andy Rowe and Jane Davidson presented. Enjoy!

The week before last, we were treated to over 300 diverse, live events on evaluation in the annual event that is glocal – a week of locally hosted, globally accessible webinars, presentations and hybrid sessions that is convened by the Glob