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Local Evaluation News and Happenings
Do you have news or events to share? Send an email to info@mneval.org.
The Hawai'i-Pacific Evaluation Association invites you to join The 2021 H-PEA Conference! The Conference schedule is available with over 20 concurrent sessions and more than 15 posters. Beverly Parsons will present the keynote Visionary evaluation for a sustainable, equitable future. She will also offer a free, pre-conference, 3-hour workshop.
Registration is $50 (deadline 8/14). A student scholarship is available (deadline 8/31) for students to attend the conference for free. In addition, there is a financial hardship waiver.
The Atlanta-area Evaluation Association invites MNEA members to a webinar that covers time management principles for evaluation project managers!
Managing an evaluation is no small task. From engaging stakeholders to keeping up with deadlines, we all do our best to manage time effectively while maintaining our sanity. But what if there was a systematic approach to this madness? A useful framework for managing evaluation projects? There is! For over 20 years the internationally recognized Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) has served as a guide for project management. This webinar will introduce the PMBOK process groups and knowledge areas, with a focus on time management, to efficiently plan for and manage evaluation projects. A case study will be used throughout the presentation.
To receive the free registration code, head to the "For Members" section of the website to get the affiliate discount code and find the registration link.
The purpose of these events is to highlight the unique focuses, approaches and contexts of external evaluators in our region and increase the collective knowledge of the work of these organizations. The intended audience is individuals who are interested in evaluation practice as part of their professional development and those who are curious for potential contract-related needs. This could be students, evaluation practitioners, evaluation users, evaluation funders, and those simply curious about the world of external evaluation. There will be two events in this series, featuring different sized evaluation firms:
(Please confirm that at least one representative from your organization is available at this date and time before signing up) Event format: The events will be virtual and last 1 hour. 5-6 organizations will be featured at each event. Each organization will have 5 minutes to provide a high level summary of your organization. Then participants will be able to join breakout rooms for organizations of their choice to ask any follow-up questions. The event will be recorded and information about your organization will be available on our website for MNEA members. If you are interested in being featured in these events, please complete the form below.
Sign up to be a featured organization here:
The Indiana Evaluation Association is having a professional development training focused on Return on Investment (ROI) Methodology. The training will be on Friday, July 16th from 9am-11 CDT. Free to attend if you register as an Affiliate Member. See our "For Members" page for the code.
The Indiana Evaluation Association has opened a call for proposals for their virtual October 2021 conference (half days on October 1, 8, and 15). The theme is Building Evaluation Capacity for a New Age. Proposals are due at 4 pm CT on June 11th. Submit proposals or any questions you have to Tessa Skidmore, IEA Program Committee Chair, at tessaboeing@gmail.com.
See the RFP for additional details and the proposal submission form.
Interested in learning how to create interactive dashboards using Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets? Tom Withee and Shelly Engelman are offering a two-part workshop where attendees will learn how to create professional, interactive dashboards that are aesthetically-pleasing, informative, and drillable.
They have have presented for AEA Summer Workshop Series, EASL (Evaluation Association of St. Louis), H-PEA (Hawaii-Pacific Evaluation Association), Community Solutions (based in Indianapolis) and Six Nations of the Grand River (based in Ontario) and are excited to offer a 6-hour (two day) workshop this May.
Session 1: May 14th, 2-5pm CT
Session 2: May 17th, 2-5pm CT
Cost: $275.25
Learn more and register at: https://gosheneducationcenter.regfox.com/designing-interactive-dashboards-in-excel-and-google-sheets
The Indiana Evaluation Association is holding a training on virtual and in-person facilitation techniques on April 16th from 12-2pm CT.
In-person and virtual facilitation tools for group learning with activities inspired by the internet and video games. You will learn how to power up participant ideas from multiple perspectives, up-vote for shared decision-making, and facilitate a successful Zoom meeting. These activities are not only fun, but help create a more inclusive and beneficial evaluation, promoting the AEA guiding principles of equity and respect for participants.
For the registration code, please login to your MNEA account and visit "Member Discount Codes" in the "For Members" section of the website.
Registration for the event is available here: https://indianaevaluation.org/Events.
AEA is excited to invite applications for various upcoming volunteer opportunities as we progress through 2021. AEA values broad-based member input and engagement, relying upon your guidance and knowledge about the field to develop policies, programs, events, and other activities to guide the association’s efforts. AEA Executive Director Anisha Lewis will select members for these Working Groups with an eye toward diversity, service to AEA, and overall expertise.
The following Working Group will commence their work in early 2021. AEA members interested in participating in this Working Group must submit their applications here no later than Monday, March 8, 2021.
Professional Development Working Group
Charge: To provide suggestions and input to the AEA staff team on the professional development offerings through AEA including eStudies, Coffee Breaks, and PD Workshops at the annual conference.
The ideal candidate should:
· Have a high (Senior, executive, well-versed) level of expertise
· Be able to commit to monthly calls
· Committed to improving the quality and diversification of AEA education for the enhancement of the association and its members
Apply
AEA and the Leadership Team are committed to cultivating and broadening diversity in the governance of the association. As stated in the AEA bylaws, "It is the policy of the American Evaluation Association to actively seek diversity across the Board and all committees, task forces, and other advisory groups, and individuals." Particular attention is paid to adequate representation and balance according to the following criteria:
· Gender (including nondiscrimination based on sexual representation and orientation or gender identity)
· Racial/Ethnic representation
· Disciplinary heterogeneity
· Practitioner/Academic balance
· Geographic heterogeneity
· International representation and perspectives
· Heterogeneity of areas of application
· Tenure heterogeneity
In order to apply for an upcoming volunteer opportunity, click here and select the volunteer groups of interest from the drop down lists.
Important: If you are interested in the above early 2021 volunteer opportunity, please be sure to rank it first based on your interest and speak specifically to how you might contribute to the group(s) in your statement of interest.
To learn more about AEA’s volunteer groups, please visit our AEA Volunteer Opportunities page.
If you have any questions, please contact Mike Zapata at info@eval.org or 202-367-1166.
You may be familiar with Minnesota Compass, a project that has been a longstanding member of the Community Indicators Consortium community. But are you familiar with their newly redesigned website? How about their special projects that track indicators of COVID-19 and its impacts, the STEM ecosystem in Minnesota, and leadership in the nonprofit, for profit, and government sectors?
Join them for a coffee break with Justin Hollis on March 5 from 3:00 to 3:30p to receive a brief tour of the new website and to learn a bit about each of these special projects.
Registration link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3086607728690110219
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Minnesota Evaluation Association
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Website: www.mneval.org
Email: info@mneval.org
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