The Canadian Evaluation Society’s conference is drawing near and there’s little time left before we all meet in Toronto to network and enjoy the great content that’s lined up. To showcase just how global our event is going to be and how we’re living up to the 2013 theme of Evaluation Across Boundaries, we’ve put together this synopsis of workshops from across the world to whet your appetite:

Using Innovative ICT Tools for Effective Evaluation of Social Impact – Live Demonstration (Africa)

with Valentine J Gandhi and Vida Razawi

This workshop will introduce you to ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools and techniques to measure and report project / programme outcomes to your stakeholders (e.g. donors, funders, supervisors or the general public). At the end of the workshop, you will be familiar with the components of an effective monitoring and evaluation plan using ICT, as well as methods and tools to conduct data collection, statistical analysis and reporting.

Professionals such as Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, Program Officers, Project managers, Research Scholars, Students and any other professionals involved in or interested in learning more about monitoring and evaluation processes will benefit from this course.

Dr Valentine J Gandhi is a development economist and knowledge manager with 11 years of experience in Asia and Africa working both at both the policy and grassroots level. He is the founder of The Development CAFÉ. He also is a consultant for several international donors and UN Agencies on Impact Evaluation and Organizational Capacity Building, Team building and Gender Training. Dr. Ghandi has been described as ‘a citizen of the world’ and is very articulate and generous in sharing his knowledge.

Vida Razawi is a sociologist who integrates ICT-based tools in her research, particularly on activating empathy among school children. She is also editor for an international journal run by DevCAFE called The Development Review.

Empowerment Evaluation (USA)

with David Fetterman

Empowerment evaluation builds program capacity and fosters program improvement.  It teaches people how to help themselves by learning how to evaluate their own programs.  The approach is guided by process use – the more that people conduct their own evaluations the more likely they are to find their findings and recommendations credible and the more likely they are to use them. The role of the evaluator is that of a coach or facilitator in an empowerment evaluation.  The workshop will also highlight how empowerment evaluation produces measurable outcomes with case studies.

Dr. David Fetterman is a past President of the American Evaluation Association and the founder of Empowerment Evaluation. He has provided professional development workshops for over 25 years. Clients include:  Stanford University, the Ministry of Education in Japan; Ministry of Health in Brazil; and the US Office of Special Education.  Dr. Fetterman has taught or facilitated empowerment evaluation workshops world-wide, ranging from Australia to Japan and Brazil to Israel.  He has also successfully taught AEA “coffee breaks” and an eStudy webinar, as well as webinars for UNICEF and Claremont Graduate University.  He has also taught at Stanford for over 25 years.

Causal Inference for Qualitative and Mixed Methods (New Zealand)

with E. Jane Davidson

Many people argue that causal inference simply can’t be done without large-scale quantitative studies, high-powered statistical techniques, and the ability to control the program or intervention. But aren’t there ways to get an approximate answer to the causal question, even using qualitative or mixed method evidence? I think there are – and that’s what this workshop is about.

You will learn eight practical, commonsense strategies to build an evidence base for causal contribution: (1) Ask observers; (2) Match content to outcomes; (3) Modus operandi; (4) Logical timing; (5) Dose-response link; (6) Comparisons; (7) Control variables; (8) Causal mechanisms. You will also learn how a judicious mix of evidence can be woven to build a case for a causal claim – to a level of certainty that makes sense in that context.

Dr. Jane Davidson is internationally recognized for applying critical thinking and evaluative reasoning to evaluation, policy, strategy, and program design. She has delivered workshops at AEA for many years, and they are consistently sold out and rated among the highest each year. She brings a distinctively multidisciplinary and refreshingly practical, plain language approach to her work, which spans education, health, social policy, leadership development, and many other areas.

View the full list of workshops planned for CES Toronto 2013 and make your choice ahead of time. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, or subscribe to our bilingual Conference Newsletter.

The evaluation field has long been peppered with great insights, and many of those have been shared with our colleagues through the publication of books. Because it’s a largely academic field, however, authors don’t get quite the same exposure in the open market as more widely-read and popular genres do. So we’ve undertaken to remedy that by making sure you get to meet the pre-eminent authors of evaluation books at the conference, with our “Meet the Authors” book signing event.

Lunch Time Networking

The book signing will be held during lunch time, and will provide a great opportunity for you to connect one-on-one or in small groups with leading Canadian and International evaluation authors. Chat with Robert Schwartz, editor of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation or discuss Empowerment Evaluation with David Fetterman.

Participating Authors

We have an exciting line-up of evaluation authors for you to meet, including:

- Gail V. Barrington (pictured above) –Consulting Startup and Management -  Sage 2012

- E. Jane Davidson–Actionable Evaluation Basics – Real Evaluation 2012

- Stephanie Evergreen – Presenting Data Effectively – Sage 2013

- David Fetterman – Empowerment Evaluation in the Digital Village: Hewlett-Packard’s $15 Million Race Toward Social Justice – Stanford 2013

- John Mayne – Enhancing Evaluation Use: Insights from Internal Evaluation Units – Sage 2013

- Hallie Preskill – Evaluating Social Innovation – FSG 2012

- Robert Schwartz –Evaluating the Complex: Attribution, Contribution, and Beyond – Transaction 2011

- Ricardo Ramirez, Dal Brodhead - Utilization-focused evaluation: A primer for evaluators (Southbound, 2013)

Our authors are also participating in CES 2013 as keynote speakers, panel and session presenters, and workshop facilitators. They are looking forward to chatting with you about CES 2013, their publications or any evaluation topic of interest to you.

Buy the Books

By attending the book signing you’ll have the option to purchase the books at a 30% discount, and get the author to sign a book plate for you. You might even win one of the publications if you participate in our raffle. 

Be There

Of course, you need to be at the conference to participate in this and other events we have planned for you. Register without delay to make the most of the early bird discount on registration and hotel rates, which have been extended to Friday 17 May. Listen to this podcast for more information on the activities scheduled for the conference.

Watch this space for more information on 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+.

The early bird discount has been extended to Friday May 17th, 2013 so this is your final chance to register and get these incredible rates. If you need any extra motivation, read our post on 4 Reasons to Register for the Conference,  or listen to our podcast on all the exciting things that are lined up

Also, the Fairmount Royal York is offering conference delegates a fabulous deal on room prices, and has extended its deadline too.

So don’t miss out – visit http://cestoronto2013.ca/registration/ to register and http://cestoronto2013.ca/location/ to book your room.

BREAKING NEWS: Early bird pricing has been extended to 17 May 2013. Register now!

Sponsorship support is a vital part of any successful conference, and the Canadian Evaluation Society’s 2013 Conference Evaluation Across Boundaries is no exception. We’d like to recognize and thank the sponsors who signed up early, particularly those who are returning sponsors from previous years:

Johnston Research Inc.

Our first Platinum-level sponsor for this year, Johnston Research is recognized locally and internationally as a leader in Aboriginal evaluation. By using culturally-based knowledge and practices delivered by Aboriginal professionals to meet the needs of clients, Johnston Research Inc. has pioneered the development of evaluation tools to assess and improve culture-based social programming.

“Sponsorship for Johnston Research Inc. is about giving back to the Canadian Evaluation Society,” says  CEO Andrea Johnson, who has a wealth of experience in the field of Aboriginal research and serves on the board of the Society’s Ontario Chapter.

“It is a matter of values and giving credit where it is due. CES is an institution stepping up to today’s challenges of improved financial accountability, enhanced member services. This national conference is about coming together as a nation of Evaluators and networking, exchanging, and celebrating. For us, sponsorship is essential for supporting our future evaluators.” Andrea will be facilitating a workshop at CES Toronto 2013.

Science-Metrix Inc.

An independent research evaluation firm with offices in the U.S. and Quebec, Silver sponsor Science-Metrix is an acknowledged leader in the assessment of science and technology using bibliometric methods and in the evaluation of science-based programs and initiatives. The company has been involved with the annual CES conference for a number of years, with a view to advancing evaluation practice. Members of Science-Metrix will be presenting during the conference.

“While sponsorship provides advantageous benefits and high visibility to our team this event also enables unique knowledge exchange, professional development and business collaboration opportunities,” says Frédéric Bertrand, Vice-President of Evaluation at Science-Metrix Inc.

Cathexis Consulting

Founded in 2001, bronze sponsor Cathexis Consulting specializes in program evaluation. Since its inception the company has carried out more than 175 evaluation and measurement projects for clients ranging from provincial and federal government entities through universities, hospitals and non-profit organizations. As a sponsor for the 7^th consecutive year, Cathexis Consulting wants to help ensure that evaluative thinking is used effectively in decision-making and policy-related processes.

“We believe the CES plays a significant role towards creating an enabling environment where evaluations can make a difference,” says Rochelle Zorzi, CEO of Cathexis Consulting. “The annual CES conference gives us a chance to share our passion and ideas with others who, like us, want to ensure that evaluations contribute to change. Sponsorship means that we get to show our support for the contribution the CES makes to furthering the evaluation field in Canada. Finally, sponsorship helps us to make new connections.”

Sponsor Benefits

We extend an invitation to additional potential funders to invest in evaluation and join the ranks without delay. With four standard sponsorship packages available and multiple customization options, sponsors can create the package that most closely corresponds to their organization’s work and budget. Whether to support the objectives and work done by CES from a philanthropic perspective, to attend participate and network in the conference in a business or thought-leadership capacity or to gain exposure in the evaluation community, we have options sponsors can select to fulfill their needs.

If your company would like to become involved with the conference or sponsor the event, please view the Sponsorship Prospectus on our website. Sponsors who come on board before May 17^th can still get recognition in the print program. After that date the print option will have expired but there are still a number of ways to get sponsor exposure.

Watch this space for more information on 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+.

BREAKING NEWS: Early bird pricing has been extended to 17 May 2013. Register now!

Guest Post by John Gargani

A few weeks ago, the New York Times reported that the United States Department of Homeland Security was in the midst of an evaluation failure.

Since 2010, the Department has been struggling to develop a measure of border security that would help Congress evaluate and improve immigration policies. Senior officials reported to Congress that the Department “had not completed the new measurements and were not likely to in coming months.”

This could delay comprehensive immigration reform legislation, which would have vast political, legal, economic, and social consequences.

The State of Modern Evaluation Practice

This is a cautionary tale of the state of modern evaluation practice. It represents a situation in which stakeholders believe that evaluation can improve social change efforts—immigration policies that almost all stakeholders consider flawed—yet evaluation has not. The reasons are complex, touching on long-discussed themes of use, politics, stakeholder inclusion, and methods. However, an important consequence has not been widely discussed—whether in the face of evaluation failure stakeholders will continue to believe that evaluation can improve society for the better.

A Shared Belief

If there is one thing that holds evaluators together as a community it is our shared belief that our work matters. This is more than a belief in the importance of evaluation use. It is a belief about impact. Our impact. We are willing to believe in the impact of our work in the absence of evidence. Should we expect others to do the same? We should not. Nor should we stop believing. We should respond by adapting our practice in ways that are more likely to achieve impact and demonstrate that we have. I call this the new practice of evaluation, and it is emerging in exciting ways in unexpected places.

Shaping Evaluation for the Future

When I give my keynote at the Canadian Evaluation Society Conference (June 9-12), I will be discussing the new practice of evaluation. The conference theme is Evaluation Across Boundaries, a metaphorical hook that is literally what the new practice of evaluation is advancing—evaluators crossing boundaries to become change makers, program designers, and market engineers. I will describe:

• - how this new practice is taking form
• - how it is disrupting evaluation practice today, and
• - how it may shape evaluation practice in the future.

These are principally undirected efforts. Should we—collectively as a profession and individually as practitioners—attempt to influence them? If so how? To what end?

Be Part of the Discussion

I cannot claim to have the answers to these questions. But I want you to be a part of the discussion. Join us in Toronto, let your voice be heard, and help define what evaluation practice will be.

About John Gargani

John Gargani is the President and Founder of Gargani + Company, Inc., a program design and evaluation firm located in Berkeley, California. Over the past 20 years, his work has taken him to diverse settings, including public housing projects, countries adopting free market economies and 19th century sailing ships. He shares his knowledge of program design and evaluation at EvalBlog.com, published articles, workshops, and speaking engagements.

John will be delivering his keynote address “The New Practice of Evaluation: Crossing Boundaries, Creating Change” on Wednesday June 12, 2013 at 8.30 am, directly following the Thematic Breakfast.

A few words from John:

It is an exciting time in evaluation. The boundaries of the profession are expanding and our work is becoming increasingly important to policymakers, program designers, and philanthropists. The challenge we face over next few years is growing our profession in ways that maximize our contribution to the greater good. I am thrilled to be a part of 2013 CES conference where we—as a community—will have a chance to do just that by sharing our visions of the future and advancing the benefits of evaluation.

Watch this space for more information on 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+.

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+.

In our February blog post Get a Glimpse of the Workshops in Store for CES Toronto 2013 we spoke about the range of workshops available for evaluation conference delegates at every level in the field. Well, this week we’re highlighting three more workshops as examples of how we’ve fulfilled that promise to you. One is a workshop aimed at people just starting out in their evaluation careers; another is pitched at intermediate level and, for the well-established, we have a solid, meaty session that will really stimulate your mental processes.

An Executive Summary is Not Enough

with Kylie Hutchinson

This beginner-level, morning workshop will help wake you up with an in-depth look at the importance of reporting skills and the best ways to communicate the results of an evaluation. Presenter Kylie Hutchinson will offer an overview of the three key principles for reporting results effectively, and you’ll be able to participate in discussing the role of communications and reporting in good evaluation practice and to work in groups on a real-life example. Afterwards, you’ll leave with an expanded repertoire of four innovative reporting techniques. The workshop will address the following evaluation competencies:

1. Technical Practice 2.16
2. Situational Practice 3.5, 3.6

Kylie Hutchinson is an evaluation consultant with a strong background in training, facilitation and eLearning.  She works closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the UBC School of Population and Public Health, and is on the faculty of the Justice Institute of BC’s Instructor Development Program.

Causal Inference for Qualitative and Mixed Methods

with E. Jane Davidson 

“Causation: The relation between mosquitoes and mosquito bites. Easily understood by both parties but never satisfactorily defined by philosophers and scientists.” – Scriven (1991).

This full-day, intermediate level workshop aims to deliver eight practical strategies to build an evidence base for getting an answer to the question of causal inference – albeit an approximate one. Delegates will learn how to build causal elements into interview and survey questions and to use a range of sources to build the case for causal contribution.

Delivered by Dr. E. Jane Davidson, the workshop will address the evaluation competencies of:

1. Technical Practice 2.1, 2.6, 2.7

Dr. E. Jane Davidson is the author of several books on evaluation methodologies as well as co-author of the blog GenuineEvaluation.com. She delivers international keynote addresses and professional development workshops online and won the American Evaluation Association’s Marcia Guttentag Award in 2005.

Processes of Learning in a Developmental Evaluation

with Wendy Rowe & Keiko Kuji-Shikatani 

“Developmental Evaluation refers to long-term, partnering relationships between evaluators and those engaged in innovative initiatives and development. Developmental evaluation processes include asking evaluative questions and gathering information to provide feedback and support developmental decision-making and course corrections along the emergent path.”  Michael Quinn Patton

This workshop will provide an overview of the principles of Developmental Evaluation and introduce process learning tools that have been used by seasoned evaluators to guide the development, sustainability and effectiveness of the program intervention.

You will learn:

1. How to attend to the unique interests, emergent issues, and complex contextual circumstances.
2. How to decipher and infuse evaluative thinking by applying and embedding technical and management practice competencies into the work cycle, evaluation design, data collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting.
3. How to apply Reflective Practice competencies as an intervention to facilitate the process of learning

Evaluation competencies to be addressed include:

1. Situation Practice 3.2, 3.3, 3.8

Dr. Wendy Rowe is a professor in the School of Leadership.  She teaches evaluative inquiry and performance measurement and is an experienced facilitator in program evaluation. She works with organizations to enhance their performance and capabilities.

Dr. Keiko Kuji-Shikatani facilitates job-embedded professional learning on a daily basis in the Public Sector using a logic model as a tool for infusing evaluative thinking and to guide developmental evaluation and has provided professional learning workshops on Developmental Evaluation to various audiences in Canada and internationally.

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. Follow us on LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, or subscribe to our bilingual Conference Newsletter.

The Engineers Without Borders’ co-founder and CEO is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at this year’s evaluation conference.

Intelligent development. That’s how Engineers Without Borders (EWB) views its social change programs that are working to accelerate rural African development. According to a February 2013 article in Forbes magazine, EWB’s CEO and co-founder George Roter has revolutionized engineering in Canada and built a global system-changing network supported by more than 45,000 engineers, volunteers, staff and entrepreneurs from all over the world that is impacting the lives of more than 2.5 million people in Africa.

A New Way

George Roter believes in a new way of looking at issues. Inspired originally by the extreme poverty of people in Zambia and Malawi, Roter decided to address the problem at its root and find a way to resolve some of its manifestations, such as the absence of clean water. This led to the creation of EWB, whose purpose is to create opportunities and training for rural Africans that will result in the next generation having more favorable conditions for change and prosperity.. Roter previously spoke on redefining poverty at the third annual TEDxToronto conference in September of 2011.

Inspiring Change

Through EWB, Roter inspires an ever-growing network of leaders who are dedicated to making disruptive, positive change. He has been recognized as an Ashoka Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship (2012), was awarded the Young Leaders Award by the Public Policy Forum (2007), named as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2005) and awarded an Action Canada Fellowship (2004) on public policy. Roter was also recognized by Time magazine as one of Canada’s next generation of social leaders (2001).

Transforming How We Work

Transparency and accountability are key to EWB’s culture. Speaking publicly about setbacks in their groundbreaking Failure Report, EWB is leading the way in creating a culture that openly discusses and critically learns from failures. Roter is looking forward to addressing the CES 2013 Toronto. “We have a huge opportunity for us to start thinking about evaluation as completely integrated with learning, with discovery, and with iteration,” says Roter. “If we do this, evaluation will not just be an exercise in accountability and report writing, but will truly unlock the potential of practitioners to deliver great work, and the potential of projects to be truly transformative.”

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+.