aes24 International Evaluation Conference

Authors: Awuor PONGE (African Policy Centre (APC) )

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Africa have long been marginalized and undervalued, despite their potential to offer sustainable solutions to pressing challenges faced by communities across the continent. This presentation explores the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities for incorporating IKS into evaluation practices that create value for both people and the planet.

From a people-centric perspective, IKS offer a holistic and culturally relevant approach to understanding local contexts, priorities, and value systems. By embracing these knowledge systems, evaluations can better capture the multidimensional nature of well-being, including spiritual, social, and environmental aspects that are often overlooked in conventional evaluation frameworks. However, challenges arise in reconciling IKS with dominant Western paradigms and navigating power dynamics that have historically suppressed indigenous voices.

From a planetary perspective, IKS offer invaluable insights into sustainable resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change adaptation strategies that have been honed over generations of lived experiences. Integrating these knowledge systems into evaluation can shed light on the intricate relationships between human activities and ecosystem health, enabling more informed decision-making for environmental sustainability. Nonetheless, challenges exist in bridging the divide between traditional and scientific knowledge systems, as well as addressing concerns around intellectual property rights and benefit-sharing.

This presentation will explore innovative approaches to overcoming these challenges, such as participatory and community-based evaluation methodologies, capacity-building initiatives, and cross-cultural dialogue platforms. By fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding of IKS, evaluation practices can become more inclusive, relevant, and effective in creating value for both people and the planet in the African context.

Authors: Michael Limerick (Myuma Pty Ltd ),Melinda Mann (Myuma Pty Ltd, AU),Melissa Osborn (Myuma Pty Ltd, AU)

Emerging best practice principles for Indigenous evaluations encourage evaluators to find new ways of conducting evaluations of programs delivered in First Nations settings. The impetus for this work is a growing awareness that evaluation activity carries the risk of perpetuating colonising impacts on First Nations people, especially in relation to the sovereignty over knowledge and data, the level of consent and self-determination in the process, the level of appreciation of cultural insights and community strengths, and the sharing of the benefits of evaluation activity. For the evaluation of the Community Justice Group (CJG) Program in Queensland, the Department of Justice & Attorney General engaged our organisation, an Aboriginal social enterprise from Queensland, to deliver an evaluation guided by best practice Indigenous evaluation principles. Encouraged by the Department's evaluation brief, our organisation assembled a team of predominantly Indigenous people with deep community connections to facilitate a strengths-based and collaborative approach that would put First Nations voices and perspectives at the centre of the evaluation. Over three years, the team followed a process of working with CJG staff and members to co-design and deliver place-based 'local evaluations' in 25 locations, as the central feature of the Statewide program evaluation. The goal was to 'walk alongside' CJGs to respect their agency and afford them growth opportunities, and to seek out stories of success rather than evidence of deficit. Working in partnership, our organisation and the Department learned much on this journey. Fully implementing Indigenous ethical evaluation principles was not without its challenges - for example, meaningful participation can only occur by relationship-building that takes time and stretches evaluation budgets, and principles such as Indigenous data sovereignty can be difficult to implement in government contexts. However, the value of the approach is evident in firstly, the way that many CJGs embraced the local evaluations, and secondly, in the powerful qualitative evidence of program success yielded by the Appreciative Inquiry-inspired storytelling methods.

Authors: Claire Grealy (Rooftop Social ),Duncan Rintoul (Rooftop Social, AU),Virginia Poggio (Paul Ramsay Foundation, AU),Luciana Campello (NSW Department of Communities and Justice, AU),Kirsty Burow (NSW Department of Communities and Justice, AU),Jacqueline Webb (National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), AU)

The evaluation of grant programs has long frustrated grantees and perplexed fund managers.
Evaluators often arrive at the end, and may find a strong narrative about the funded activity (assuming the project staff are still in place) but less of the documentation and data that demonstrates the impact or learning, or shows the link between each project to the fund objectives.

Fund managers have often had to be content with the limited results available to them, sometimes as basic as acquittals on activity and expenditure. This limits funders' ability to capture learning, feed into new fund designs, mount budget bids, or tell a compelling story about the work grant holders are doing.

This panel brings together a cross-section of key players and beneficiaries from a variety of contexts:
* a state government fund manager in the human services sector
* an evaluation lead from a large national philanthropic organisation
* an experienced project manager from a national NGO that receives grants from various sources
* two evaluation specialists who have deep experience working in this space, developing and delivering this kind of support.

Drawing on case studies from practice, this panel will share some innovative approaches from their work, which bring the right mix of expectation and support to the design stage of grant-based projects, from the time of submitting an EOI through to the point of evaluation readiness.

The fruit that hangs off this tree includes:
* strengthening the 'evaluability' of each project and the overall fund
* testing each project's assumptions and ambitions
* deep conversations between grant makes and grant holders about outcome alignment
* building the evaluative thinking and capability of project teams and organisations, activating the 'ripple effect' as participants share their newfound commitment and skills with their colleagues.
"You couldn't drag me to program logic workshop before this. And now look at me - I took that process you did with us and yesterday I ran it with my team on another project."

Authors: Samantha Abbato (Visual Insights People )

The psychology of evaluation capacity building: Finding the way with the rider, elephant and the pathway
Evaluation capacity building is increasingly becoming a core part of evaluation practice and a critical part of incorporating evaluation into the everyday activity of organisations (Preskill and Boyle, 2008, White, Percy and Small, 2018). Reaching the point where evaluation becomes the way of doing business requires a change of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Changes need to happen at the level of individuals, teams, organisations, and partnerships. This journey requires supporting and managing change to systematic enquiry processes as much as it requires evaluation expertise. In this skill-building session, we introduce Jonathan Haidt's 'rider, elephant and pathway' metaphor as a framework to support change and strengthen evaluation capacity (Haidt, 2018).

Haidt's metaphor for change includes the rider (our rational thinking side) atop an elephant (our emotional side). Behaviour change for individuals and collectives requires steps that (1) support the rider, such as giving clear directions, (2) motivate the elephant by tapping into emotions, and (3) shape a pathway to change, including clearing obstacles. In this interactive session, the facilitator will provide case studies applying Haidt's metaphor,spanning two decades Through these examples the power of this framework to support evaluation capacity building is demonstrated. Examples include using Haidt's framework for:
1. Building a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system with a medium-sized community organisation;
2. Increasing the maturity of MEL in an existing large organisation; and
3. Increasing the impact of evaluation partnerships.

The active skill-building component incorporates:_

• Cartoon elephant, rider and pathway flashcards;
• A 'snakes and ladders' style game; and
• Evaluation-specific examples.

The combination of examples and activities are designed to support participant learning. The session will encourage discussion of barriers, enablers and actions to build evaluation capacity relevant to different situations and contexts.

Learning objectives include:

• Knowledge of a sound and memorable psychological framework for supporting evaluation capacity building;
• Ability to apply Haidt's metaphor

Authors: Eugenia Marembo

Representatives of First Nations communities have been advocating for changes in the way initiatives are planned, prioritised, and assessed. This includes greater visibility on where funding is going, more partnerships on designing initiatives and more evaluation on the outcomes being achieved, to inform government decision making.

This paper presents key insights on what constitutes good practice when designing and appraising initiatives that affect First Nations people and communities. The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is built around four new Priority Reforms that will change the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. Priority Reform Three is about transforming government institutions and organisations. As part of this Priority Reform, parties commit to systemic and structural transformation of mainstream government organisations to improve accountability, and to respond to the needs of First Nations people.

The findings presented in this paper draw on insights from consultations with various First Nations community representatives and government stakeholders in New South Wales, and the subsequent process of developing a government department's First Nations investment framework which seeks to strengthen the evidence on what works to improve outcome for First Nations people. Additionally, the frameworks to improve practice across government processes and better inform how initiatives are designed, prioritised and funded.

Authors: Emily Lapinski (Central Land Council ),Malkirdi Napaljarri Rose (Centre For Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University, AU), Glenda Napaljarri Wayne (Central Land Council, AU), Geoffrey Jungarrayi Barnes (Central Land Council, AU), Alex Gyles (Centre For Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University, AU)

For evaluation to support transformational change, research suggests strategies must focus on localised Indigenous values, beliefs and worldviews. Decolonising evaluation involves identifying and addressing power and considering what is being evaluated, by whom and how. In this paper we argue that these developments are necessary but insufficient and suggest a possible way forward for further decolonising the field of evaluation. To support change for Indigenous Australians the emphasis needs to move from simple evaluation of individual programs to more critical examination of their combined impact on communities from local perspectives.

This paper explores how Warlpiri and non-Indigenous allies are collaborating to create and use their own community-level impact assessment tool. The 5-year Good Community Life Project is supporting Warlpiri residents of Lajamanu in the Northern Territory to define, assess and take action for a 'good community life'. Warlpiri will explain how they created the approach for assessing wellbeing in Lajamanu, and how they are using emerging results to give voice to their interests and advocate for the life they envision for future generations.

The project involves collaboration between Warlpiri community members, land council staff and university researchers, drawing on Indigenous concepts of 'two-way' seeing and working, relationality, and centring Indigenous voice and values. Applying these concepts in practice is challenging, particularly for non-Indigenous allies who must constantly reflect and use their privilege to challenge traditional views on 'robust' evaluation methodology.

Warlpiri and the land council see potential for this work to improve life in Lajamanu and as an approach that could be applied across Central Australian communities. Going beyond co-designed and participatory evaluation to critical examination of impact is the next step in supporting change with Indigenous communities. This paper will focus on Warlpiri perspectives, plus brief reflections from non-Indigenous allies, with time for the audience to discuss broader implications.

Authors: Caroline Crothers (Allen + Clarke Consulting)

A collaborative effort between community organisations and Victoria Police has demonstrated significant impact in addressing youth offending in Victoria's northwest metropolitan region. This initiative brought together 12 partner organisations from various sectors, including police, legal services, and youth support services around the shared goal of reducing youth offending. By diverting young offenders from the criminal justice system, the initiative seeks to enhance overall justice, health, and wellbeing outcomes for vulnerable youth. Allen + Clarke was commissioned to evaluate the success of this initiative during its inaugural year. In this presentation, we share key lessons learned from the evaluation including how minimally resourced and small-scale interventions can have an outsized impact on organisational change to culture and practice. We also reflect on the journey embarked upon and explore how the evaluation process itself serves as a tool for navigating through complex challenges and adapting to changes encountered along the way. Through critical reflection, the presentation delves into the differing perspectives of the delivery partners involved highlighting how the evaluation journey facilitates a shared understanding of the path forward and shaping future strategies and interventions.

Authors: Mark Power (Murawin ),Carol Vale (Murawin, AU)

This presentation explores the paramount importance of culturally sensitive engagement methodologies in ensuring meaningful contributions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to mission programs. Murawin, an Aboriginal-led consultancy, has developed a robust Indigenous Engagement Strategy Framework grounded in the principles of reciprocity, free, informed and prior consent, mutual understanding, accountability, power sharing, and respect for Indigenous knowledge systems. Our session aims to share insights into the necessity of prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in engagement, co-design, and research, highlighting the significance of cultural competence in fostering mutual respect and understanding.
We will discuss three key messages: the imperative of deep knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in engagement practices; the success of co-design processes in facilitating genuine and respectful engagement; and the strategic partnership with CSIRO to enhance cultural competence and inclusivity in addressing Indigenous aspirations and challenges. These points underscore the critical role of acknowledging cultural interactions and ensuring cultural sensitivity in building strong, respectful productive relationships with Indigenous communities.
To achieve our session's objectives, we have designed an interactive format that blends informative presentations with the analysis of case studies, complemented by engaging intercultural discussions. This approach is intended to equip participants with actionable insights drawn from real-world examples of our collaborative ventures and co-designed projects. Through this comprehensive exploration, we aim to enrich participants' understanding of successful strategies for engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, ultimately contributing to the achievement of more inclusive and impactful outcomes in mission programs and beyond.

Authors: Laura Faulker (NSW Treasury)

This paper presents the key findings from research and engagement on how cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been applied to First Nations initiatives to date. CBA is an important tool used by governments to help prioritise budget funding decisions. It assesses the potential impacts of an initiative - economic, social, environmental, and cultural - to determine whether it will deliver value for money.

The paper explores the methods in which the value of First Nations cultures has been incorporated into CBAs, along with the associated challenges and opportunities to improve current practice. The findings have informed the development of an investment framework for the design and evaluation of initiatives that affect First Nations people and communities. The framework focuses on the key principles for embedding First Nations perspectives and ensuring culturally informed evaluative thinking.

Authors: Stephanie Button (Assessment and Evaluation Research Centre, University of Melbourne), Allison Clarke, Carolyn McSporran (Blue Light Victoria, AU)Authors: Stephanie Button (Assessment and Evaluation Research Centre, University of Melbourne), Allison Clarke (Assessment and Evaluation Research Centre, University of Melbourne, AU), Elissa Scott (Blue Light Victoria, AU)

This presentation aims to provide a case example of how two small-scale, standard process/outcomes evaluations for a low-budget community organisation increased value for the organisation by identifying and seizing opportunities for evaluation capacity building. Formal evaluations represent a significant financial commitment for low-budget community organisations. By maximising the value provided by such evaluations, evaluators can contribute more to these organisations' mission and ultimately to social betterment.

There are numerous different evaluation capacity building models and frameworks, many of which appear to be quite complex (for example: Volkov & King, 2007; Preskill & Boyle, 2008). Many emphasise planning, documentation, and other resource intensive components as part of any evaluation capacity building effort. This session provides a case example of intentional but light-touch and opportunistic evaluation capacity building. Through such an approach, evaluators may need to do only minimal additional activities to provide extra value to an organisation. Reflection-in-action during the evaluation process is as important as the final reporting (Schwandt & Gates, 2021). The session emphasises, though, that a critical enabler will be the organisation's leadership and culture, and willingness to seize the opportunity offered by a formal evaluation. The session is co-presented by two members of the evaluation team and the Head of Strategy, Insights, and Impact of the client organisation.

Authors: Alli Burness (Tetra Tech), Lisa Faerua (Vanuatu), Nathan Sentance (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, AU), David Lakisa (Talanoa Consultancy, AU)

In the inaugural ANU Coral Bell Lecture on Indigenous Diplomacy, Dr Mary Graham outlined a powerful legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relational methods that have operated across a spectacular time scale. She envisioned a compelling future for its renewed application and spoke of these practices as a type of "thinking in formation, a type of slow, collective, and emergent process".

Inspired by Dr Graham's vision, this panel explores synergies, distinctions, and complementarities in local and Indigenous research methods across Australia and the Pacific. The panel features Wiradjuri, Samoan (Polynesian), Ni-Vanuatu (Melanesian) and settler-background (Australian) researchers from a range of fields who will explore, engage and showcase locally specific methodologies that connect across Australia and the Pacific continents, as ways of knowing, doing, and relating with the land, the moana (ocean) and air.

This session frames evaluation and research approaches as reflecting their contextual political order. While the panel will critique the legacies of individualist and survivalist research methods, it will focus on exploring the futures that relational research methods could realize. How do we evolve current institutional approaches to become more commensurate with Indigenous methods? Would institutionalizing these methods resolve the legacy, structure, and form of colonialist political approaches? Panelists will speak to their experience in working to evolve institutions in this way and the research and evaluation methodologies used within them.

The session also situates evaluation within a cannon of contextualizing evidence-based practices (such as political economy analysis, GEDSI analysis or feasibility.

Authors: Kizzy Gandy

Surveys are an excellent data collection tool when they reach their target response rate, but low response rates hinder the generalisability and reliability of the findings.

This Ignite presentation will discuss techniques Verian evaluators have applied to increase survey response rates while also assessing the efficacy and efficiency of these techniques. We will also explore other evidence-based strategies for boosting response rates and the value of drawing on other data sources if your response rates are still low.

Authors: Susie Fletcher (Australian Healthcare Associates)

Auslan is a visual, signed language that was developed by and for the Australian Deaf community. People who use Auslan as their primary or preferred language are not necessarily fluent in English. Our team was engaged to review access to interpreter services for Auslan users, a population group that is often underrepresented in evaluation. In this presentation we will highlight some of the issues evaluators need to consider when working with this marginalised community, and share practical skills and techniques for making their evaluations more accessible.

Authors: Skye Trudgett (she/her) - Kowa, AU, Katie Stubley (she/her) - Griffith University, AU, Terri Reid (she/her), Chloe Wegener(she/her), Banok Rind (she/her), Sophie Spry (she/her), Niamh Kealy (she/her)- Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute for First Nations Gender Justice, AU

Measurement and data does not need to be all about numbers—it is about our heart and spirits, it is about voice, story, emotion—it is about truth. Numbers can tell us all sorts of lies, Wiyi Yani U Thangani is and always has been about—your voice—what you are saying about your lives, how you see your future and what matters to you.' June Oscar AO, Chair of Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute.
Quantitative data often dominate measurement and evaluation, yet true understanding requires tapping into the heart and spirit of communities. As June Oscar AO poignantly reminds us, it is the voice, story, emotion, and truth that bring depth to data. This session at the AES conference offers a hands-on experience that transcends traditional data collection, engaging participants in co-creating collaborative Impact Yarns through deep listening, yarning, and creative expression.
Join us in a dynamic workshop where sculpture and artwork become powerful tools for storytelling and knowledge sharing. Participants will learn to capture the nuanced experiences of First Nations communities, reflecting on how these creative practices can reveal the interconnectedness of our lives and contribute to systemic change. By integrating Indigenous methodologies, we will collectively explore the rich, qualitative data that emerges from individuals' lived realities and aspirations.
As we craft and shape our narratives, we will reflect on how these stories can inform and transform policies and initiatives. This immersive session is not just about creating art; it is about embodying the principles of gender justice and equality, respecting cultural heritage, and acknowledging the diverse ways communities envision their future.
Experience the power of collaborative creation, where every word spoken, and every form sculpted enriches our collective understanding of impact. This workshop is an invitation to step away from the spreadsheet and into a space where every voice contributes to a tapestry of change. Come, let us shape a more empathetic and embracing approach to measurement—one that values the stories and truths of all peoples. truths of all peoples.

Authors: Ayesha Boyce (Arizona State University), Aileen Reid (UNC Greensboro, US)

Evaluation can be positioned as a social, cultural, and political force to address issues of inequity. We co-direct a 'lab' that provides new evaluators with hands-on applied research and evaluation experience to support their professional development. We are proud of our social justice commitments, and they show up in all aspects of our work. We believe the next generation of evaluators must be trained and mentored in high-quality technical, strengths-based, interpersonal, contextual, social justice-oriented, and values-engaged evaluation. We have found that novice evaluators are able to engage culturally responsive approaches to evaluation at the conceptual level, but have difficulty translating theoretical constructs into practice. This paper presentation builds upon our experiences and previous work of introducing a framework for teaching culturally responsive approaches to evaluation (Boyce & Chouinard, 2017) and a non-course-based, real-world-focused, adaptable training model (Reid, Boyce, et al., 2023). We will discuss how we have taught new evaluators three formal and informal methodologies that have helped them align their values with praxis. Drawing from our work across multiple United States National Science Foundation-funded projects we will overview how the incorporation of photovoice methodology, just-in-time feedback, and reflective practice have supported our commitments to meaningfully, and respectfully attend to issues of culture, race, diversity, power, inclusion, and equity in evaluation. We will also discuss our thoughts on the implications of globalization, Artificial Intelligence, and shifting politics on evaluation capacity building and training of new evaluators.

Authors: Kathleen Stacey (beyond...Kathleen Stacey & Associates Pty Ltd), Cheryl Augustsson (Yorgum Healing Services), Raelene Rosas (NT Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation), Pat Thompson (Link-Up (Qld) Aboriginal Corporation), Jamie Sampson (Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation)

Link-Up Services support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed, fostered or adopted from their families as children, and their descendants who live with the ongoing impact of forcible removal policies, to reconnect with family, community, culture and Country. Wayfinding is at the core of our work - navigating unfamiliar territory with clients towards a hoped for destination of a greater sense of 'home', wherever this is possible, in a culturally safe, appropriate and trauma-informed manner.

In 2019, the National Indigenous Australians Agency funded development of a national Link-Up monitoring and evaluation strategy with the eight Link-Up Services operate across six jurisdictions. Each Link-Up Service is either a stand-alone Aboriginal community controlled organisations or based in an Aboriginal community controlled organisation.

This interactive workshop invites participants into our collective experiences of co-creating and implementing the M&E Strategy on a national basis, presented from the voices and position of Link-Up Services. We believe our experiences and learnings will be instructive for monitoring and evaluation activity with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and programs.

Travel with us in reflecting on our monitoring and evaluation wayfinding journey over three phases of work. Pause with us at key points throughout the session to exercise your critical self-reflection and analysis skills, share your ideas and learn what has worked well or presented challenges for us and why in creating, navigating and implementing a culturally safe monitoring and evaluation strategy in a complex and demanding service context.

Authors: Julian King (Julian King & Associates), Adrian Field (Dovetail)

The rapid growth of video-conferencing technology has increased the ability for evaluations to be conducted across multiple countries and time zones. People are increasingly used to meeting and working entirely online, and evaluations can in principle be designed and delivered without need for face to face engagement. Translational AI software is even able to break through language barriers, providing further efficiencies and enabling evaluation funds to be directed more to design, data gathering and analysis.

Yet the efficiency of delivery should not compromise the integrity with which an evaluation is conducted. This is particularly true in situations where different dimensions of equity come into question, and in an evaluation where two or more languages are being used, ensuring that the design and delivery are meaningful and accessible to all participants, not just the funder.

The growth of remote evaluation working presents a very real, if not even more pressing danger, of the consultant "parachuting in" and offering solutions that have little or no relevance to the communities who are at the centre of the evaluation process.

In this presentation we explore the wayfinding process in designing and implementing a Value for Investment evaluation of an urban initiative focusing on the developmental needs of young children, in Jundiaí, Brazil. We discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by a largely (but ultimately not entirely) online format, in leading a rigorously collaborative evaluation process, and gathering data in a way that ensures all stakeholder perspective are appropriately reflected. We discuss the trade-offs involved in this process, the reflections of evaluation participants, and the value of ensuring that underlying principles of collaborative and cross-cultural engagement are adhered to.

Authors: Kathryn Erskine (Cube Group), Michael Maher (Cube Group, AU)

The session is intended to provide a practical example of how a traditional program evaluation was re-orientated to allow the application of findings to inform broader system transformation. This echoes current discourse in evaluation - particularly since the global pandemic - whereby traditional notions about how the field of evaluation is viewed and developed are being challenged (Ofir, Z. 2021). Specifically, there are calls to rethink and elevate evaluation practice to actively contribute to and support systems transformation (see Dart 2023; Norman 2021), beyond a narrow programmatic focus.

This session will illuminate this discussion by examining a mental health program evaluation in the context of significant service reform across the Victorian mental health system. The presentation will outline insights and techniques about how to lift and reconfigure a tightly defined program evaluation into one which can have broader application to the system ecosphere. It outlines how and why the pivot was made; changes we made to the methodology and the key benefits that arose from taking an expansive view of the sector in which the program operated within.

The design of the session will be a presentation format supported by a PowerPoint slide deck, comprising:
•    Introduction and purpose of session
•    Overview of the program we evaluated
•    Key challenges which required an evaluation 'pivot' - and how we worked with our client
•    Key changes made to the methodology
•    Key benefits from elevating from a programmatic to systems focus.

Authors: Sandra Ayoo (University of North Carolina Greensboro)

With quality in improving interventions to improve societal and planetary wellbeing being the desired destination of evaluation, it is imperative that evaluators reflect on the meaning of quality and methods to assess if evaluation is achieving it. Meta-evaluation, coined by Michael Scriven in 1969, evaluates evaluations and aids in understanding how evaluations contribute to addressing structural and systemic problems in interventions and evaluation practice. Meta-evaluation has evolved over the past five decades and is included in the program standards by major professional associations. While the field of evaluation is confronted with major concerns regarding the centrality of social justice, there is currently there are no one-size-fits-all guidelines for meta-evaluation and for addressing social justice in evaluations. To address this, we reviewed meta-evaluation literature, mapped the American Evaluation Association's foundational documents with the United Nations Evaluation Group's Norms and Standards to explore their intersectionality on social justice, and analyzed 62 United Nations Population Fund evaluation reports alongside their management responses. The study findings indicated that meta-evaluation is contingent on context rather than established standards. Thus, it's crucial for evaluators to intentionally prioritize social justice in evaluation design and implementation and to select quality assurance tools that match the evaluation context and professional association guidelines to improve the quality of the intervention. I will share key characteristics of the United Nations Group's Norms and Standards on social justice to stimulate discussions on evaluators' efforts to address systemic issues. Collectively, participants will benefit from discussing and reflecting on their own practice by responding to questions like (a) what are the examples of their work in collaborative and systems-informed ways to intentionally include social justice in their evaluations, and (b) what should the field of evaluation do to ensure that evaluations add value for people and planet?anagement response.

Authors: Matt Healey (First Person Consulting)

The Design and Evaluation Special Interest Group (DESIG) was established in 2017. Its primary aim has been to explore the intersection of evaluation and design, and that aim has been interpreted in different ways over time. In 2024, the DESIG identified an opportunity to take the SIG model in a slightly different direction, embarking on an innovative venture with the launch of the Evaluation Lab, an initiative aimed at talk into action, and taking evaluators through a design process to address evaluation challenges.
Drawing inspiration from the concept of 'living labs,' which serve as real-world testing grounds, the Evaluation Lab created a space where evaluation professionals could come together. Employing a design-thinking process, the Lab guided participants through a structured expedition of defining, ideating, and prototyping solutions to tackle nominated challenges. Participants also learned pitch skills to communicate their solutions.
This Big Room Session provides an opportunity for the DESIG to outline the Evaluation Lab model, capped off with participants presenting their solutions through rapid-fire pitches, either live or pre-recorded, akin to explorers sharing tales of new lands discovered. The session's innovative twist lies in the audience's role, acting as both audience and judges. The audience will vote on their favourite solution, and be involved in crowing the first AES Evaluation Lab winner.
By blending lecture-style content with dynamic team presentations and active audience engagement, the Big Room Session not only highlights the critical role of design in navigating evaluation challenges but also demonstrates the practical application of these methodologies in charting a course through real-world problems.

Authors: Allan Mua Illingworth (Mua'akia Consulting and Insight Pasifika) Fiona Fandim (Pacific Community (SPC), FJ), Eroni Wavu (MEL Officer for Pacific Women Lead at Pacific Community (SPC) and cofounder of the Fiji Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Community), Mereani Rokotuibau (Balance of Power Program, FJ) and Chris Roche (La Trobe University),

In recent years there have been a number of Pacific driven initiatives designed to promote monitoring and evaluation practice which is culturally and contextually appropriate. These have occurred with projects and programs as well as at national and regional levels. At the same time geo-political interest in the Pacific region has resulted in an increased number of bi and multilateral donor agencies becoming present in the region and/or funding development programs, local organisations, national governments and regional bodies. This has in turn led to an evaluation landscape where notions of 'international best practice' as well as donor policies and practices and associated international researcher and consulting companies, risk crowding out emergent Pacific led evaluation initiatives.

This panel will bring together key participants who are leading four examples of these Pacific experiences: the Rebbilib process initiated by the Pacific Community (SPC ), Insight Pasifika (an emerging Pacific led and owned collective focused on evaluation in the first instance): the Fiji Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Community and the Balance of Power program (a Pacific-led initiative, supported by the Australian Government, focused improving the political, social and economic opportunities for women and girls) each of whom are seeking to create space for processes of monitoring, evaluation and learning which are consistent with Pacific ways of knowing and being. They will share their experience, the challenges they face and ideas about what forms of support might be provided by international donors, consultants and advisors which are enabling rather than undermining.

Moderated by Prof. Chris Roche the panel and audience will also draw out the lessons from these four cases about what might contribute to more systemic change in the evaluation landscape more generally.

Authors: Candice Butler (Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak ),Michelle McIntyre (Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak, AU),John Prince (JKP Consulting, AU)

There is increasing recognition that evaluations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs must be culturally safe and appropriate, and represent the worldviews, priorities, and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the cultural knowledge and cultural authority to design appropriate evaluations that are safe, and that tell the true story of the impacts of our ways of working.

As a peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations we wanted to ensure that the worldviews and perspectives of our members and communities are embedded in any evaluations of services delivered by our member organisations. This is a necessary step towards building an evidence base for our ways of working, developed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. To that end we developed an evaluation framework to enable self-determination and data sovereignty in evaluation, and to build capacity among our member organisations to undertake and/or commission culturally grounded evaluations. Culturally grounded evaluations are led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and guided by our worldviews and knowledge systems - our ways of knowing, being and doing.

This paper reports on the development and implementation process used in the project and describes the standards and principles which underpin the framework. An example of how the framework is being applied in practice is also outlined. Our principles for evaluation describe the core values which underpin culturally grounded and safe evaluation including self-determination; cultural authority; truth-telling; two-way learning; and holistic approaches. The evaluation standards and associated elements operationalise our principles and embed them in evaluative practice.

Authors: Stephanie White (Victoria Department of Education )

Evaluators can fail in many ways. The consequences of these failures can be relatively contained or wide ranging within the evaluation and can also flow on to program operations. But failure is a part of life and can be a useful catalyst for professional growth. What happens when you find yourself failing and can see the risks ahead? How do you keep going?

The session focuses on the experiences of an emerging evaluator who failed while leading a large-scale education evaluation. When some elements of the evaluation became untenable, they struggled to find the right path forward and could foresee the risks materialising if the situation wasn’t addressed. On the other side of it, they reflect on how they drew on tools in every evaluator’s toolkit to start remedying their previous inaction and missteps to get the evaluation back on track…and improve their practice along the way!

This session is relevant to any evaluator who grapples with the messiness of expectations and reality in their practice.