A workshop for anyone who wants to bring evaluation into your transformative change work in a positive way, supporting how you do what you do with how you understand and value what you do.
Spring 2024 Registration is now open!
Fridays from 9:30am to 12:30pm Pacific (12:30pm to 3:30pm Eastern)
May 10, 17, 24 & 31
What is this workshop about?
This workshop is for people who are curious about the power and potential of evaluation. If you design and deliver services or programs, plan and implement initiatives and interventions, or work creatively with questioning and transforming systems, then you have probably encountered situations where someone asked you (or you asked yourself), “How do we know if this is working? How do we decide if this is worth doing?” Those are the questions that program evaluation (which sometimes also goes by names like ‘impact assessment’ and ‘strategic learning’) is all about. Evaluation sits at the intersection of learning, accountability, and strategy.
You are probably also used to feeling a little bit overwhelmed or put off by evaluation. The way it seems to ask a lot just to put your work into little boxes to make sense to someone else but never seems to capture what you really do or help you do it better. How do you know what data to collect, how to collect it, and what to do with it when you’ve got it? How do you tell the story of your work in a way that reflects what really matters to you and the communities you serve? How do you get strategic insights into what’s actually going on in your intervention and ideas about what to do next? How can evaluation be not just an afterthought tacked on at the end, but woven into and strengthening the work as you go?
If you’re a service provider who needs to figure out how to evaluate your program…
If you’re a leader trying to get your organization on board with strategic learning…
If you’re a service designer who wants to know if your initiatives are having an impact…
If you’re a funder trying to make better use of data and reporting…
If you’re an internal evaluator feeling stuck on how to explain and support this work…
If you’re a consultant who wants to help your clients navigate this space more confidently…
This workshop is about providing you with an orientation to what evaluation is (and isn’t), and principles, practices, and tools to help you get started on weaving evaluation into the work you do.
How does it work? What will I learn?
You can be brand new to evaluation or already have some experience under your belt because we’ll start with the fundamentals and go from there. The focus of the course is helping you develop a strong grasp of the core practice of evaluation and get practical tools to apply in your context. The expectation is not that you will be an evaluation expert by the end, but that you will have a solid foundation on which to develop your skills and be able to take a good next step in your own evaluation journey.
This workshop is split up into four weekly 3-hour sessions, hosted online. Each session will involve a blend of instruction, experiential learning exercises, and opportunities for application, reflection, and discussion. Along with the sessions, you’ll have access to an online learning community with extra resources and space for conversation and questions, and a 1-hour coaching session with the instructor to get support on specific technical and operational questions relevant to your unique evaluation needs.
Week 1: What is Evaluation? Definitions and Orthodoxies
We’ll start with simple definitions of essential concepts as well as unpacking and questioning some of the assumptions and baggage we have about evaluation and how it works (and doesn’t).
Week 2: What Are We Evaluating? Unpacking Our Designs
The precursor to any evaluation process is being able to describe what you want to evaluate—not just what you do, but how and why. This week we’ll look at ways to articulate our designs (including in-process, emerging designs) and the strategies behind them.
Week 3: How Do We Learn? Creating Learning Infrastructure
This week will introduce the basic elements of an intentional learning process and how they fit together, as well as how to connect them back to the mission and strategy of your intervention or organization (including common ways this process can get stuck).
Week 4: How Do We Evaluate? Putting It All Together
The final week weaves together loose ends and moves us from the foundation of learning into the nuances of evaluative judgement-making—what is ‘good’? What is ‘working’? What is ‘impact’? That is what evaluative practice asks us to decide.
Each week’s content will build on what has come before. If you are concerned about missing a session, all of them will be recorded and made available through the online learning community immediately after each session and for one month after the course ends.
What people have said about the workshop:
“Ciaran is funny and approachable, and clearly knows their stuff. I liked the use of examples throughout the workshop, and that the audience was able to participate. Ciaran explained complex concepts very clearly, and their teaching style made it seem like evaluation wasn't so scary after all.”
“I have a weird shame about how I am ‘supposed’ to know more about evaluation in my job - this session gave me some places to start learning more and notice how much I do know and can build on!”
“I'm new to evaluation, but found the content really digestible, informative, and relatable. So much of understanding is about tying new things to what you already understand.”
“I liked the passionate and charismatic delivery of a range of content, it was great and very interesting. I liked the ‘thinking out of the box’ type interactive portions too, and appreciated how the workshop attempted to cover both theory and practice. Making slides accessible afterwards is really helpful too!”
What does it cost?
For this four-week, 12-hour workshop with a hosted online learning community, curated resources, and individual coaching session, the standard registration cost is $750 CAD (plus GST). If this rate is not financially accessible for you or your organization, a reduced rate is also available. If you are attending with a group of three or more people, you are eligible for a group discount (please contact me for details before registering). More details on the registration page.
If you are in an organization that provides professional development funds, you can refer to this guide to asking for support from your organization. You can also check if you are 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 training. 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 steps.)
Who is the instructor?
Hi, I’m Ciaran! I’m a trans, queer, white settler and an evaluation consultant who has been practicing for over ten years. I support clients in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, across a wide range of service areas.
The common theme among most of my evaluation work has been people who are trying to do something different, whether from their own usual practice or everybody else’s, asking, “How do we understand what we’re doing? How do we explain it?” and looking to evaluation for that insight and guidance.
You can learn more about me by checking out my website, my blog, and my podcast.
What else can you tell me about the accessibility of the workshop?
In terms of technology we’ll be using, sessions will take place on Zoom. Slides and exercise templates will be shared through Google Slides and Powerpoint. Interactive exercises will take place on a combination of Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Jamboard, and Mentimeter. The online learning space will be hosted on Basecamp. Registration is hosted through Jotform.
All content will be in English. Closed captioning with auto-captions will be enabled. Slides and exercise templates will be provided in advance and visual content will be described. Sessions will be recorded and shared afterward along with exercise instructions and templates. Slides and exercise templates are designed with attention to readability in terms of font type, size, and colour selection.
Teaching blocks will be balanced with different levels and types of interaction, including exercises, solo reflection, and small- and large-group discussions. Having your video on during sessions will be welcomed but never required.
Please let me know if you have any other accessibility considerations I should be aware of when you register.
How can I learn more?
Questions can also be directed to me via the contact form on this website.
Thank you and I hope to see you there!
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