I’m interested in your workshop! How do I speak to my organization about supporting me to attend?

First, find out what kind of support is available to you in terms of professional development funding at your organization. That might mean speaking with your supervisor, HR, or whoever is responsible for this in your setting.

Every organization is different, but here are some key points to think about when approaching your organization to support you in attending an evaluation workshop:

• What makes evaluation important to your organization? What are their evaluation goals? What kinds of evaluation experiences have they had in the past, and what are they looking for in the future?

• What are their goals for organizational learning capacity and skill development among staff? What would make their investment in your learning worthwhile? (e.g., sharing back resources and skills you’ve learned with your team)

• What are their goals for equity in working with data in decision-making? What commitments has the organization made toward equity and justice and how are these reflected in their approach to evaluation?

Some points that might be helpful in making your case:

• Being able to work critically and creatively with data and information to inform strategic decision-making is a leadership skill that has broad applicability

• Funders are increasingly emphasizing evaluation as part of their granting strategies

• Hiring and working with external evaluation consultants is often easier and more useful when there is internal capacity to bridge the gap between the consultant and the organization

You may also be eligible for the Canadian Evaluation Society BC Chapter’s DEI fund. This fund provides grants of up to $250 to people who are under-represented in the evaluation field to attend evaluation-related events and trainings. You are not required to be a CES member to apply. Note that approval of funding can take up to 2-3 weeks. (See link above for more details on eligibility and application requirements.)