You're invited! Ann K. Emery will present Visualizing Evaluation Results: Trends, Best Practices, and Software Strategies on Monday, September 15, 2014 from 12 - 1:30 pm at George Washington University. 

• What: Visualizing Evaluation Results: Trends, Best Practices, and Software Strategies
• Who: Ann K. Emery
• When: Monday, September 15, from 12 - 1:30 pm 
• Where: George Washington University Marvin Center, Room 403 (800 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20052)
• Nearest Metro station: Foggy Bottom (blue/orange lines) 
• Registration: Please RSVP in advance

Have you ever emailed an evaluation report to a client and wondered whether they even read about the results? Have you tried sharing results during in-person meetings only to watch their eyes glaze over? If so, this brown bag is for you. As data becomes easier and cheaper to collect, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available to us, to our coworkers, and to our clients. Visualizing data through charts, graphs, and diagrams is one strategy to deliver bite-sized pieces of information that stakeholders can understand at a glance and retain for the long run.

We’ll discuss how to select appropriate chart types; emphasize key findings with color; and take the guesswork out of your graphs through titles, subtitles, and annotations. We’ll focus on evaluation-specific visualization considerations: designing with stakeholders’ information needs front and center, using readily available software like Microsoft Excel, and thinking through a dozen chart types--dot plots, small multiples, heat maps, and more--that can be applied to nearly any evaluation project. We’ll conclude with strategies for sharing visualizations through videos, handouts, slidedocs, social media, and dashboards. You’ll leave with the critical thinking skills and technical prowess needed to create visualizations faster and easier than you ever thought was possible.

Ann K. Emery is an independent consultant who specializes in data visualization and evaluation capacity building. She is the Co-Chair of the American Evaluation Association's (AEA) Data Visualization and Reporting Topical Interest Group, Secretary for the Washington Evaluators, Advisory Board Member for AEA’s Potent Presentations Initiative, member of the Nonprofit Technology Network’s Research Committee, and a past conference planner for the Eastern Evaluation Research Society. She has taught workshops about data visualization, data analysis, and dashboards for dozens of nonprofits, foundations, and professional societies, and co-authored the Data Visualization Checklist with Stephanie Evergreen. Her work has been featured on Beth Kanter’s blog, Visualising Data, Markets for Good, and the National Center for Family Philanthropy, among others. Connect with Ann through her blog (www.annkemery.com/blog) and through Twitter (@annkemery).