“Diversity, Our Interwoven Experiences”

Evaluation is a growing discipline within Canada and around the world. Through growth, there are valuable opportunities to be made regarding the diversity within and diversity of evaluation. However, what are these opportunities and how are evaluators able to identify and act upon them?

The ultimate purpose of the 2022 National Canadian Evaluation Society Conference (CES) is to illuminate and celebrate the mosaic of evaluators in Canada as well as unpack the mutually reinforcing approaches and perspectives within the evaluation community. The conference will provide a space of reflection for the evaluation community to identify where we are and where we want to go in the future.

To unpack the diversity of evaluation, the following two streams have been developed:

Stream One: Diversity Within Evaluation

This stream will investigate the various forms of evaluation approaches that exist such as formative, summative, developmental, participatory, impact, Indigenous, and empowerment evaluation and methodologies and techniques utilized by evaluators including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.

Relevant questions for this theme include, but are not limited to: What is the most prominent approach to completing evaluations today and is that trend changing? Are there approaches to evaluation that have the potential for growth in the future? How are evaluators best able to incorporate diverse approaches into their professional practices?

Stream Two: Diversity of Evaluators

This stream will explore the diverse background of evaluators including, but not limited to, their:

• Education
• Age
• Language
• Ethno-cultural
• Geography – region/location of practice
• Gender
• Sexual orientation
• Socio-economic class
• Ability/disability
• Employment history and sector

Further, this stream will explore the role of evaluators

• Advocate
• Educator
• Impartial third party

Relevant questions for this theme include, but are not limited to: How does the personal background of an evaluator influence approaches taken to conducting an evaluation? What mechanisms exist or should be developed to incorporate diversity into evaluation practice? Are evaluators able to be advocates, educators, and impartial professionals? Does the virtual capacity and infrastructure adopted throughout the pandemic improve accessibility/inclusion of individuals from diverse backgrounds?