This page includes information about the two ways to engage in this opportunity:
PurposeThe Washington Evaluators is devoted to strengthening and sustaining the evaluation community in the Washington DC area by recruiting and helping to educate the next generation of evaluators. The “New Professional Scholarship" is intended to support new professionals in integrating state-of-the-art knowledge and information sharing into their evaluation practices and approaches within their respective organizations and/or future practice. The Scholarship provides emerging evaluators with increased access to high-quality professional training, meaningful mentorship, and a supportive community of fellow evaluators. In this way, the Scholarship helps facilitate continued diversity and inclusion in the profession. The Scholarship is open to new professionals, current students, postdocs and new graduates. In 2022, WE and EnCompass Learning Center (ELC) will offer multiple New Professional Scholarships throughout the year. The information below pertains to the second scholarship that will be offered this year. Two scholarship recipients will be selected from applicant submissions for Round 2 of the New Professional Scholarship program. To ensure a fair competition among newer (0-2 years of experience) and more experienced (3-5 years of experience) new professional applicants, we will award one scholarship to each type of applicant. Round 2 recipients will have access to a four-day ELC training ($1100 value) on Principles-focused Evaluation taught by Michael Quinn Patton, along with WE's mentoring program, Career Connections, and a complementary year of WE membership. Read below for more details. Eligible applicants include new & emerging evaluators who are: 2) non-WE members but who work/study and/or reside in the DMV metropolitan area (i.e., applicant has clear ties to the locality based on their resume/CV), OR Read below for more details on eligibility requirements. Deadline for Submission August 29th, 2022 Criteria for Award Selection
Application MaterialsThe following are required for a complete application. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
4. Confirm your availability in your statement of interest to attend Principles-focused Evaluation in October 2022. This is a four-module course that will take place on October 11, 13, 18, 20 8am-11am EDT. Scholarship recipients are expected to attend all four sessions.
Benefits to the Scholarship RecipientIndividuals who receive the scholarship award will have the opportunity to become increasingly active in the local and national evaluation communities, including WE professional development events and networking opportunities. Specifically, funds will be awarded to support the recipients' participation in the October 2022 training opportunity offered by EnCompass Learning Center (ELC), in Washington, DC (currently offered remotely). In addition, Washington Evaluators will provide a one-year complimentary membership, with participation in the Career Connections program. Selection Criteria Applications will be reviewed by the Scholarship Task Force on a 100-point scale, allocated as follows:
Commitment of the selected New Professional Scholars
How to ApplyPlease submit completed application materials in one email containing separate attached documents in PDF format (see Application Materials) by 11:59 p.m. EST by deadline: August 29th, via email: scholarship@washingtonevaluators.org with the subject line: “Application for Round # 2022 New Professional Scholarship.” You may address the email to the Scholarship Committee.We encourage emerging evaluators from groups underrepresented in the evaluation profession to apply. Should you have any questions about the 2022 New Professional scholarship, please do not hesitate to email us at scholarship@washingtonevaluators.org. Scholarship Recipients will be notified via email by September 24th. Confirmation to Washington Evaluators will be required from the Scholarship Recipient by September, 29th. Two scholarship recipients will be selected from applicant submissions. Volunteers Needed: Scholarship Application ReviewersOverviewWashington Evaluators is seeking volunteers to serve as Scholarship Application Reviewers. Volunteers may be any evaluation professionals with five or more years of work experience./1 This volunteer opportunity is virtual and open to Washington Evaluators members only. The purpose of this role is to help ensure the fair selection of 2022 New Professional Scholarship recipients through the objective review of scholarship applications. Scholarship Application Reviewers will serve as part of a 2022 Application Review Committee that will select five awardees between February-December 2022. Please read below for more information on what this volunteer opportunity entails. 1 / Evaluation professionals of diverse backgrounds and specialties are encouraged to volunteer as Scholarship Application Reviewers including independent consultants, evaluation educators, managers, or sponsors, and professionals who work with evaluators in non-profits, foundations, educational, government, or other organizations. What am I expected to do in my role?You are expected to thoughtfully read and score scholarship applications using a pre-established rubric. After scoring the applications, you are expected to work with your fellow reviewers (i.e, the Application Review Committee) to decide who is the scholarship winner. We ask that reviewers keep their reviews confidential and only share it with the Scholarship Committee. In 2022, there will be four winners selected for three different scholarship offerings. While the duration of your service can be flexible, we are hoping to find volunteers who can commit to judging all three rounds of scholarship applications, as described below. What is the scholarship review timeline?2nd round of review: The first round of scholarship applications will be expected to be reviewed September 1st-Semptember 20, 2022. One winner will need to be selected for this opportunity. Prior to the week-long review period, volunteers will receive an orientation from the scholarship coordinators. More information will be posted soon about the timeline for reviewing the 2nd and 3rd rounds of scholarship applications. How much time will it take to review applications for each scholarship offering?This will depend on how many applications we receive for each scholarship opportunity. Given that the scholarship program is relatively new and varies in its offerings from year-to-year, the number of applicants vary as well so it is difficult to know how many applicants we will receive. Last year, we received 8 applications and reviewers spent about 15-20 minutes scoring each application. Should we receive an unusually high volume of applications this year, the Scholarship Committee will explore ways of dividing up the labor so that no volunteer is overburdened by their tasks. Any other questions?Please email scholarship@washingtonevaluators.org. Interested in Serving? Please send a digital copy of your CV/resume and include in the body of the email a brief statement (1 paragraph) explaining your interest in this position and confirm the number of scholarship application rounds you would be able to judge. Emails should be directed to scholarship@washingtonevaluators.org with the subject line "2022 Scholarship Application Reviewer." |