5 June, 2013
Final Details for CES 2013 Evaluation Conference
With only 4 days to go until the CES Toronto 2013 evaluation conference, we’ve put together a checklist you may wish to use as you make your final preparations.
Accommodations: Have you booked your hotel room and made transport arrangements? The Fairmont Royal York hotel is still offering fabulous rates for conference delegates, and nothing beats the convenience of on-site accommodation.
Be social: Do you have your ticket for the Experience Toronto / Hard Rock Café Mama Kin dinner and show? This not-to-be-missed event even has the endorsement of the original Aerosmith band and takes place in the hub of Toronto’s city centre at Yonge and Dundas Square.
Experiential site visit: Have you bought your ticket for the Regent Park Pathways to Education program site visit? 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. This is 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.
Workshops: Have you registered for a pre-conference workshop? The registration desk will located in the Canadian room foyer, convention level and be open for check-in and to answer questions during the following hours:
Registration desk hours:
Sun June 9 – 07:00 – 19:30h
Mon June 10 – 07:00 – 19:30h
Tue June 11 – 07:00 – 17:00h
Wed June 12 – 07:00 – 13:00
Are you on Twitter? If so, please remember to tweet during the conference using hashtags #cestoronto2013 and #eval. You’ll be able to follow our live tweets whether you’re there or not, but delegates will be able to contribute to the content on our Twitter wall by using these hashtags.
Stay healthy: Remember to pack your yoga mats and/or running shoes for early morning workouts! We’re planning to make sure you don’t let your health regimen slip while you wait for the daily intellectual stimulation to begin.
CESEF silent auction: On Sunday evening, you can kick-off the conference by greeting old and new friends and colleagues, as well as helping the CES Educational Fund (CESEF) make this year’s benefit auction the best yet! Tapas and a selection of drinks will be provided, and a cash bar will be available. Proceeds from the silent auction support scholarships, awards, and educational opportunities to individuals wishing to pursue a career in the field of Program Evaluation.
Internet: There is no internet in the individual conference rooms. There will be limited WIFI access in the learning lounge if you have a laptop or other WIFI enabled device. If you’re staying in the hotel, your WIFI connection is for your own account.
Evaluation – not a spectator sport! Have you considered your answers to the following questions in preparation for the collaborative town hall session on 12 June? You can answer our poll on LinkedIn or Facebook, or just bring your responses along to the session.
Questions
What challenges do you face as an evaluator?
- Developing evaluations of big picture evaluands such as strategy, innovation, or policy
- Ethical challenges e.g., concerns over integrity, neutrality and conflicts of interest
- Accessing credible, advanced-level professional development opportunities
- The use of evaluation to inform decision-making
How do you think Evaluation as a field/practice might need to evolve over the next 10 years in order to remain viable?
- Work with large, complex datasets
- Expand our methodologies and tools
- Become mainstream – Evaluation as “must do” v. “nice to have”
- Draw parallels from, and engage with, diverse disciplines (e.g., social finance)
What is our role as practitioner evaluators in this process?
- Conduct research on evaluation
- Increase commitment to evaluation capacity building
- Influence evaluation policy formation
- Define evaluation – as a profession and as a discipline
See you in Toronto!
View the Full Conference Program for the informative workshops and plenary sessions, or listen to this podcast to hear about the program we’ve got lined up.
Watch our blog 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+.
