Pathways to Education @ Regent Park: A unique experiential learning opportunity for evaluation conference delegates to contribute to an innovative education program in one of Canada’s most exciting urban revitalization projects

Every year, thousands of Canadian students in low-income communities drop out of high school, contributing to poverty and the need for social housing such as Toronto’s Regent Park community complex.

The country’s oldest and largest social housing project, Regent Park is also home to Pathways to Education, a program designed to reduce poverty by helping young people finish high school and go on to obtain post-secondary qualifications.

The community is currently undergoing a major urban revitalization, and delegates to the 2013 evaluation conference have the chance to provide input into the Pathways program. (View this video of some of the program’s education success stories.)

Guided Tours

“We’ll be taking small groups of delegates on a guided tour through the community,” says Yasser Ismail of Cathexis Consulting, Inc. who has been working with the Pathways program on behalf of the CES Conference program committee to coordinate this event.“We can take a maximum of 48 participants, and after the tours they will all get together to explore the key research questions that we need their input on.”

Delegates will get to see the social housing project, develop their understanding of the issues facing the community and the reasons why the education program is so vitally important.

Sharing and Discussion

Ismail explains that participants will be able to view a video documentary, a summary of the program results and the evaluation report before the two-hour event. Afterwards, delegates will be able to network and share ideas. Organizers plan to use a World Café process for the group meeting, to maximize creativity and innovative thinking.

Cost

You’ll have to purchase a ticket to be a part of this opportunity, but all profits go to the Regent Park Community so it’s for a worthy cause. Details of the event are:

Venue: Daniels Spectrum, Regent Park in Toronto

Date/Time: Tuesday, June 11 2013, 4.00pm—6.00pm.

Transportation: Transportation to the site will be arranged for participants. The price of transportation is included in the ticket price for the event.

Price: $CAD 35.00 + taxes per person

If you are interested in reserving your ticket, please write for the attention of Yasser Ismail at CESProgram2013@evaluationontario.ca  This is a great opportunity to get to grips with a real-life issue and contribute to the future development of the program. Tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage you to secure your spot now. Please note: you must be registered for the conference to participate in this special event!

For more information on this wonderful urban revitalization project, please visit http://www.pathwaystoeducation.ca/en/toronto-regent-park

Watch this space for more information on events lined up for the 2013 conference, or subscribe to our bilingual Conference Newsletter and follow us on social media. You can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and  Google+.

Registration is now open for the Canadian Evaluation Society’s 2013 evaluation conference, scheduled to be held in June at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. It’s your opportunity to reserve your seat at this remarkable event, where evaluators, policy-makers, program directors, managers and other evaluation specialists from around the world will gather to engage in fostering new knowledge. This year, we’ve managed to keep our rates really, really low to encourage the attendance of as many great evaluation minds as possible.

Reason #1: The Rates are Great

With the cost of conferences increasing exponentially over the past few years, we made a commitment to keep CES Toronto 2013 affordable for all, particularly for students of evaluation who have yet to get started in their careers. We’re proud to say we’ve managed to fulfill that commitment, with rates that are the best we’ve been able to offer in five years. Various rates are available if you just want to attend for a specific period of time.

Reason #2: Early Birds Pay Less

Early bird prices are $475 for full members, which is equal to our 2007 conference rate and has been higher most years since then. Students pay only $225, which is less than the 2012 conference and equivalent to our 2006 rates!  To qualify for these low early bird prices, however, registration must take place on or before May 10, 2013.

Reason #3: Regular Pricing Offers Value

After May 10th, 2013 you’ll be paying full price of $625, which we believe is still reasonable compared with previous years. Apart from the quality and content promised by the workshops and keynote speakers, it’s a small price to pay for the value of meeting and networking with other evaluation professionals throughout the duration of the event.

Reason #4: Final Date is Approaching

Your last opportunity to register will be Monday, June 3^rd at 11.59 pm EST. But for those who would still like to attend, or perhaps only want to come to a specific workshop, we’ll be taking on-site registrations from Sunday June 9^th at 7.30 am EST.

Grab your spot now – register online without delay. You need to be a member in good standing and payment must be made by cheque and/or invoice by Monday 13^th May 2013. Cancellations and refunds are available subject to terms and conditions. Click here to check your membership status and renew if necessary.

Watch this space for more information on workshops lined up for 2013, or subscribe to our bilingual Conference Newsletter and follow us on social media. You can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and  Google+.

In our March blog post, 3 Compelling Workshops You Won’t Want to Miss, we spoke about the range and diversity of workshops available at CES 2013 evaluation conference. This week we’re highlighting three more workshops.

Project Management 101 for Evaluators – Beginner Level 

with Judy Lifshitz

Are you new to evaluation practice? Do you suspect you could be more productive if only you were better organized? Then this half-day workshop is for you.

Participants new to project management will learn practical tools and techniques to identify and manage project risks by planning and managing schedules and resources, both human and financial, using project management techniques. Topics to be covered include the Project Life Cycle (i.e. project initiation, planning, execution, closing) and Project Constraints and the ‘project management triangle’ (i.e. time, cost, scope).

Judy Lifshitz M.S.W., P.M.P, C.E is an Evaluation Manager in the Office of Audit and Evaluation at Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada. Judy is a member of the CES National Capital Region, Professional Development Committee and Core Mentoring Working Group.

Evaluation competencies to be addressed include:

• Management Practice 4.1, 4.3, 4.7

Handling Data from Logic Model to Final Report – Intermediate Level 

with Dr. Gail Barrington

How can you gain 25 years of expert evaluator skills in one day? Sign up for Gail Barrington’s workshop at CES 2013 evaluation conference.

Gail will share her hard-won lessons about how to interact with stakeholders, ask the right questions, collect the right data and analyze and present findings in useful ways. This intermediate-level has drawn large audiences at the Summer Institute sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Evaluation Association. Learn how to collect, analyze, and present data from complex evaluation studies in ways that are feasible for the evaluator and meaningful to the client.

Dr. Gail Barrington was recently named to the Dynamic Dozen, the top-rated presenters at the American Evaluation Association. For more than 25 years, she has owned and managed her consulting firm, Barrington Research Group, Inc. and recently published Consulting Start-up & Management: A Guide for Evaluators & Applied Researchers, (SAGE, 2012).

The workshop will address the following evaluation competencies:

• Technical Practice 2.2, 2.14, 2.15

Lessons from and the Practice of Using Culture-Based Approaches in First Nation Settings

with Andrea L.K. Johnston and Lori Meckelborg 

Do you wish you had more culturally-appropriate techniques in your evaluator’s toolkit? Then this evaluation conference workshop is not to be missed.

Utilizing culturally-focused facilitation methods, such as open space, photo visualization, group discussion, wax modeling, and breathing techniques; this workshop will review appropriate Aboriginal Evaluation Methods and discuss how to overcome difficulties.  We will also review various / multiple ways in which cultural ways of knowing and technology can be used to enhance Aboriginal evaluations by examining our past experiences. We will then review a culture-based evaluation success story and participants will investigate ways to enhance the evaluation with cultural teachings and technology. Finally, we will look at our experience and lessons learned from the field as well as look at some of our reports when we have used cultural knowledge and technological evaluation tools and discuss how these methods could enhance your reports.

Andrea L. K. Johnston is CEO of Johnston Research Inc. With 15 years of Aboriginal evaluation experience, she has managed over 120 local, regional and national projects. Andrea is recognized as an expert in the use of Aboriginal indigenous knowledge in evaluation. In 2010 she received the CES-ON 2010 Excellence in Evaluation Award. She was guest editor for the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (CJPE) Winter 2010 edition and authored two papers: ‘Aboriginal Ways of Knowing: Aboriginal-led Evaluation’, and ‘Using Technology to Enhance Aboriginal Evaluations’. Andrea currently chairs the Board of the CES-Ontario Chapter. 

Evaluation competencies to be addressed include:

• Reflective Practice 1.1, 1.3

View the full list of workshops planned for CES Toronto 2013 or take in the video and audio messages from some of our presenters and make your choice ahead of time. Registration is now open – book your spot online before May 10^th to qualify for Early Bird pricing.  Register at http://cestoronto2013.ca/registration/.

For updated news and information, subscribe to our bilingual Conference Newsletter and follow us on social media. You can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and  Google+.