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Evaluation Café

Since the 1980s, the Evaluation Café has been a venue for spirited dialogue about the cutting edge of evaluation.

The Evaluation Café features discussions, debates, and presentations about evaluation over the lunch hour. Café presenters introduce new ideas, solicit feedback on real-world evaluation issues, and share recent evaluation work.

Evaluation Café is pleased to offer both in-person and virtual options. Join us for lunch and a thought-provoking conversation led by innovative minds in our field in 4410 Ellsworth or via Zoom. 

Café Schedule

We hope you'll join us for our exciting spring lineup!

All presentations begin at 12:05 p.m. EST.

  • January 24, 2024 featuring Min Ma
    Professional photo of Min MaMin Ma
    Founder and Principal
    MXM Research Group
     

     

     

     

    Beyond Checklists: A Card Deck to Spark Reflection and Action Around Data Equity

    Data is more than spreadsheets and dashboards. Contrary to what many of us are taught about research, data always comes from a perspective. This presentation explores what it looks like to create and work with data in a way that centers justice, equity, and inclusion. It introduces the Data Equity Deck, a card deck developed by MXM Research Group to move teams and individuals through reflection and action around data equity. Min will share examples of how the questions and activities posed in the deck have made a difference to her team’s evaluation practice. 

  • February 14, 2024 featuring Thomas Archibald
    Thomas Archibald
    Executive Director
    Center for International Research, Education, and Development
    Virginia Tech
     

     

     

    Practical Wisdom for Evaluators

    Practical wisdom—often equated with the Aristotelian intellectual virtue of phronesis—was described by Ernie House, as “doing the right thing in the special circumstances of performing the job.” According to Tom Schwandt, it “is about knowing what is right, good, or best to do in a particular set of circumstances. It is pragmatic, context-dependent, involves deliberating a course of action based on principles and values, and informed by critical reflection,” incorporating analytical reasoning, practical reasoning, deliberation, reflection, and praxis. Especially as an antidote to the technical-rationalistic, instrumental style of reasoning and professional knowledge production that sometimes characterizes evaluation, practical wisdom is important. This is why an edited volume on it was published in 2023: Practical Wisdom for an Ethical Evaluation Practice (Hurteau and Archibald, editors; Information Age Publishing). This presentation will provide a summary of the book, and will suggest ways in which all evaluators can further emphasize practical wisdom in their work.

  • February 28, 2024 featuring Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead
    Dr. Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead
    Associate Professor
    Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation Program
    University of Connecticut
     

     

     

    Modernizing Evaluation's Cartography, Architectural Blueprint, and Definition

    In a forthcoming chapter, we (Montrosse-Moorhead and Bitar) revisit and visualize Scriven’s (1991) extended metaphor—The Country of the Mind—including the architectural blueprints for the Evaluation Building. We use these metaphorical foundations and draw from recent evaluation scholarship to propose an amended definition of evaluation that clarifies the always-present moral dimensions of evaluation. Our amended definition has significant implications for evaluation, which are discussed in the chapter. In this Evaluation Café presentation, Dr. Montrosse-Moorhead will preview the Country of the Mind map, where the Evaluation Building is located on this map, and a close-up of the building itself. None of these have been visualized before in published scholarship. Dr. Montrosse-Moorhead will also share the proposed amended definition, why it is necessary, and the implications of adopting the amended definitions for evaluation practice; the implications for the instruments, methods, and techniques we use; and the implications for evaluation’s theoretical and metatheoretical scholarship.

  • March 13, 2024 featuring Felicia Bohanon
    Professional photo of Felicia BohanonFelicia R. Bohanon, Ed.D.
    Executive Director, Office of Precollegiate Programs
    Northern Illinois University
     

     

     

     

    Strategies for Amplifying and Empowering Voices in Evaluation

    The active inclusion of new and emerging perspectives in the evaluation field fosters diversity, sustainability, and the ongoing evolution of theory, methods, and practice. As the American Evaluation Association (AEA) examines its priorities and develops a new strategic plan in 2024, a core consideration is how does the field foster an inclusive environment where all voices are valued? In this session, the AEA President will discuss the organizational priorities that will guide the development of the strategic plan and AEA’s 2024 conference, which will focus on mentoring those new to the field of evaluation, elevating fresh perspectives throughout the evaluation community, and creating space for experienced professionals to share and gain knowledge. Join this Evaluation Café session to discuss how AEA can foster collaboration among emerging and established professionals to create a stronger future for the evaluation field.

  • March 27, 2024 featuring Tatiana Bustos
    Image of Tatiana Bustos outdoorsTatiana Elisa Bustos, Ph.D. 
    Researcher and Instructor
    RTI International, Transformative Research Unit for Equity, Social Science
     

     

     

     

    Enhancing Evaluation Engagement with Community Based Participatory Action Research Principles: Centering Relationships and Power Dynamics Throughout the Project

    Meaningful evaluation engagement requires trust enhancing relational practices and collaborative decision-making that attend to power dynamics. Community-based participatory action research (CBPR) principles offer insights that can benefit evaluation practice by deepening and enriching engagement strategies beyond just evaluation engagement (Israel et al., 1994; Springsett & Wallerstein et al., 2008). Grounded in social equity and rooted in community psychology, CBPR principles call for engaging partners throughout an evaluation with promising practices that emphasize equitable power-sharing and quality of relationships (Israel et al., 1998) Evaluators are encouraged to learn about and use CBPR principles in combination with other evaluation engagement strategies to enhance the partnership process and their evaluations. This presentation will discuss CBPR principles and their connection to the challenges of program evaluations and with engagement practices. This session builds on a book chapter titled, Evaluation Engagement: Historical perspectives and new directions with community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles published in The Evaluation Center’s Core Concepts in Evaluation Classic Writings and Contemporary Commentary. 

  • April 10, 2024 featuring Jennifer Billman and Bagele Chilisa
    Dr. Jennifer Billman
    Associate Professor
    HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Professional photo of Bagele ChilisaBagele Chilisa
    Professor
    University of Botswana
     

     

     

     

    The Power and Politics of Knowledge Production in Program Evaluation: Author Reflections

    During this presentation Bagele and Jennifer will share the origin of their writing partnership, their collaborative writing process, and how they settled on their chapter topic. They will also provide an overview of the key points addressed in the chapter and discuss the necessity of addressing funder, methodological, and pedagogical colonialism in evaluation decolonization efforts. This session builds on a book chapter titled, The Power and Politics of Knowledge Production in Program Evaluation: Funder, Methodological, and Pedagogical Colonialism published in The Evaluation Center’s Core Concepts in Evaluation Classic Writings and Contemporary Commentary.