Evaluation Without Borders: Evaluator Volunteer Informational Session

Led by the Washington Evaluators, April 21, 12:00-1:00pm

Evaluation Without Borders (EWB) aims to match evaluators with community-based organizations and nonprofits seeking program planning, measurement, and evaluation services. For each pro bono project, a EWB Coordinator develops a team of DC-based evaluators interested in providing services. Teams will work on projects that vary based on the needs and assets of each nonprofit and community-based organization.

Program coordinators will provide WE members with information about participating in the EWB program as a volunteer evaluator. This event is open to WE members.

If you have questions about this event, please email communityengagement@washingtonevaluators.org.

Please join the Washington Evaluators for our monthly meeting. Members and non-members are welcome. Please note that Board meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month.

Location: Online. Zoom link will be sent to those who register. 

Time: 6:30-8:00 pm

Agenda: 

1. Welcome and Agenda Review 

2. Governance:

• Approval of last months meeting minutes (Secretary)
• Review of monthly financials (Treasurer)

3. Update on Strategic Planning 

4. Committee Updates:

• Programming 
• Community Engagement (Mentor Minutes, EWB, Scholarships)
• Communications 
• Membership

5. Board Action Items (if any)

For questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Deep Dive into Data Visualizations

Led by the Washington Evaluators, April 22, 12:00-1:00pm

We all want to create engaging data viz storytelling like Hans Rosling (200 countries, 200 years in 4 Minutes) so let’s learn more about this critical skill. Join your colleagues for a deep dive into data visualization where we will discuss the principles of data visualization, share what you learned and can put into practice, and gather some more resources on improving your data viz skills.

Many of the great data viz experts have written wonderful, publicly-available blogs that provide quick insights into better data viz practice alongside their books. Before the “Lunch & Learn” session, visit any of the websites listed below and choose some of the blog posts from these leading experts. You will also find their books listed after the website. Come with points that resonated with or surprised you and be ready to learn from others through a discussion facilitated by WE Program Coordinator, Kelly Feltault, PhD.

Websites:

• Evergreen Data: https://stephanieevergreen.com/blog/ ; Effective Data Visualization, Stephanie Evergreen

• PolicyViz: https://policyviz.com/blog/ ; Better Data Visualizations, Jonathan Schwabish

• Storytelling with Data: https://www.storytellingwithdata.com/blog ; Storytelling with Data, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

• Depict Data Studio: https://depictdatastudio.com/blog/ ; Great Graphs, Ann Emery

• Cairo: http://www.thefunctionalart.com/ ; The Functional Art, Alberto Cairo

• Stephen Few: https://www.perceptualedge.com/blog/ ; Information Dashboard Design, Stephen Few

This event is open to WE members. If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

The Role of Evaluation and Learning: A Spotlight on Foundations

Hosted by the EnCompass Learning Center and co-sponsored by the Washington Evaluators, May 6, 12:00-1:30pm
Register for this event using this link.

The EnCompass Learning Center, in partnership with Washington Evaluators, is proud to host a panel of leaders from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation who will share their experiences and reflections on the role that evaluation and learning play within their respective foundations and where they see the field moving in terms of future priorities.

Our panel will discuss the following key topics:

• The evaluation function and its objectives and relation to learning within the foundations
• Ways to build an evaluation and learning practice that reflect organizational values
• What is most exciting about their evaluation and learning efforts to date
• Where will they be focusing their efforts in the years ahead

Register for this event using this link.

Moderator: Lynne Franco, EnCompass LLC

Panelists:

• Sonia Moldovan - Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
• Veronica Olazabal - The Rockefeller Foundation
• Alonzo Plough - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Maurice Samuels - MacArthur Foundation

If you have questions about this event, please email learningcenter@encompassworld.com.

Meet, Dine, & Connect with our 2021 WE President!

Led by the Washington Evaluators, May 10, 6:00-7:00pm

Back by popular demand! Bring your own dinner and join us for a virtual networking dinner to meet our 2021 WE President, Beeta Tahmassebi! Get to know Beeta's vision for WE in 2021 and connect with other evaluators. 

During this dinner, participants will have the opportunity to meet fellow evaluators, discuss the state of the profession, and offer suggestions for improving the larger WE community and the profession. This event will have a particular focus on WE scholarship and will feature Fanni Farago and Eric Keys, WE Scholarship Coordinators, as special guests!

This event is open and free for WE members. If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Evaluation Without Borders: Nonprofit Partners Informational Session

Led by the Washington Evaluators, May 12, 12:00-1:00pm

Evaluation Without Borders (EWB) aims to match evaluators with community-based organizations and nonprofits seeking program planning, measurement, and evaluation services. For each pro bono project, a EWB Coordinator develops a team of DC-based evaluators interested in providing services. Teams will work on projects that vary based on the needs and assets of each nonprofit and community-based organization.

Program coordinators will provide individuals from nonprofit organizations with information about the EWB program. This event is free and open to the public.

If you have questions about this event, please email communityengagement@washingtonevaluators.org.

Introduction to Evaluation Policy: What are they? What is the intention?

Hosted by the American Evaluation Association Evaluation Policy Topical Interest Group and co-sponsored by the Washington Evaluators and Oregon Program Evaluators Network, May 12, 3:00-4:00pm
Register for this event using this link.

In 2019, the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policy Act (P.L. 115-435) directed federal agencies to write and implement guidance for program evaluation, also known as evaluation policies. The intent of these evaluation policies is to foster a more robust and sustainable evaluation function within federal agencies.

Recent scholarship on the topic indicates that when developing such policies, agencies rely on peer learning for ideas, insights, and advice on what to include. In this session we hope to stimulate additional peer to peer learning. We will begin by sharing highlights from two recent studies conducted on evaluation policy in the philanthropic and federal government sectors -- highlighting common, and less common, topics covered in existing policies. Then, we will highlight a case example from the Department of Homeland Security. The webinar will close with an open discussion with attendees to learn about the practices associated with developing and implementing evaluation policies and to foster additional research studies on the topic.

During this webinar, you will learn more about:

• The differences between evaluation policies, evaluation plans and learning agendas.
• Motivation and intent for drafting an evaluation policy
• Emergent research on evaluation policies across two sectors: philanthropic and federal government

Register for this event using this link.

Moderator: Dr. Esther C. Nolton, PCORI

Panelists:

• Dr. Rebecca Kruse - U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Dr. Leslie A. Fierro - International Development Research Centre
• Dr. Alana Kinarsky - University of California, Los Angeles

If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Please join the Washington Evaluators for our monthly meeting. Members and non-members are welcome. Please note that Board meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month.

Location: Online. Zoom link will be sent to those who register. 

Time: 6:30-8:00 pm

Agenda: 

1. Welcome and Agenda Review 

2. Governance:

• Approval of last months meeting minutes (Secretary)
• Review of monthly financials (Treasurer)

3. Update on Strategic Planning 

4. Committee Updates:

• Programming 
• Community Engagement (Mentor Minutes, EWB, Scholarships)
• Communications 
• Membership

5. Board Action Items (if any)

For questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Applying Racial Equity to Data Visualizations

Led by the Washington Evaluators, May 27, 11:00am-12:00pm

How can analysts, researchers, and developers apply a race- and ethnicity-conscious lens to their data analysis and data visualization work? How can we take a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) perspective to our research, data, and visualizations?

Just as we carefully consider our written words, we should be equally careful in how we visually present data to our readers, users, and audiences, including the words we use in and around those visuals. Taking a DEI perspective means considering how the specific lived experiences and perspectives of the people and communities we are studying, as well as our readers, will perceive information and carry that information forward.

In this talk, Dr. Jon Schwabish will discuss a variety of techniques that data visualization producers should consider when creating visuals with this DEI approach.

How WE Can Meet the Moment

Led by the Washington Evaluators, June 10, 11:00am-12:00pm

As we reflect on the last 35 years, AEA President Tom Grayson has a great vision for the evaluation community. During this session, President Grayson and AEA Executive Director, Anisha Lewis, will share ideas and opportunities of how WE can meet the moment. We are also grateful to have long-time AEA volunteer and Washington Evaluators Past President, Dr. David Bernstein, moderate this discussion. Don't miss this unique opportunity to connect with dedicated and distinguished leaders in evaluation! 

This event is open to WE members.

If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Evaluation in the Service of Racial Equity: Getting Practical

Led by the Washington Evaluators, July 29, 12:00-1:30pm

Many of us in the evaluation profession are committed to using our practice to support racial equity and social justice. Concepts, frameworks, and terms such as multicultural validity, culturally responsive evaluation, transformative evaluation, equitable evaluation, and more, have excited us. In recent years, some foundations have started to add a requirement for adhering to equitable evaluation principles in their RFPs. Even if we agree on the importance of the principles, many of us wrestle with how to make them concrete and put them into everyday practice.

Transforming our practice to support racial equity is not something we can do with a framework, a tool, or a checklist, and it certainly won’t happen overnight. Conducting evaluation in service of racial equity is a practice and like any practice, it requires us to continuously learn, hone, and improve our knowledge and skills. This workshop will focus on one aspect of the practice—how to use a systems lens in our practice to help our clients dissect and diagnose the symptoms, structures, and linkages that perpetuate racial inequity for communities that have been historically marginalized and continue to be marginalized today. We will use hands-on exercises to help workshop participants engage with this lens.

There are no easy answers when it comes to evaluation in the service of racial equity. This workshop will not provide you with a neatly packaged set of solutions. Instead, it will probably raise more questions and challenges, which is inevitable because we are dealing with implicit biases that have seeped into our scientific training for generations. This has in turn created an ecosystem of funders, evaluation practitioners, and evaluation consumers that unintentionally perpetuate the status quo. Join Kien Lee and Brandon Coffee-Borden in a process—albeit brief and virtual—to strengthen our collective practice of evaluation in service of racial equity as we challenge and help each other to get better at it.

This event is open to WE members.

If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Designing Accessible Data Visualizations: 10 Quick Wins

Led by the Washington Evaluators, August 25, 3:00-4:00pm

Accessibility doesn’t need to take all day. And accessibility shouldn’t just be a box-checking exercise to satisfy paperwork requirements.

Meet, Dine, & Connect with our 2021 WE President!

Led by the Washington Evaluators, September 7, 6:00-7:00pm

Back by popular demand! Bring your own dinner and join us for a virtual networking dinner to meet our 2021 WE President, Beeta Tahmassebi! Get to know Beeta's vision for WE in 2021 and connect with other evaluators. 

During this dinner, participants will have the opportunity to meet fellow evaluators, discuss the state of the profession, and offer suggestions for improving the larger WE community and the profession. This event will have a particular focus on all things related to mentoring in evaluation. Bryce Leary, WE Mentor Minutes Coordinator, will be featured as a special guest!

This event is open and free for WE members. If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Evaluation Without Borders: Closing Event

Led by the Washington Evaluators, November 17, 12:00-1:30pm

Evaluation Without Borders (EWB) aims to match evaluators with community-based organizations and nonprofits seeking program planning, measurement, and evaluation services. For each pro bono project, a EWB Coordinator develops a team of DC-based evaluators interested in providing services. Teams will work on projects that vary based on the needs and assets of each nonprofit and community-based organization.

This event is open to WE members. It is an opportunity for the evaluator volunteers and nonprofit partners to share their experience and final products from the EWB pairings. 

If you have questions about this event, please email communityengagement@washingtonevaluators.org.