aes24 International Evaluation Conference

Title: Evaluating sustainability science capacity building: Pathways for early career researchers

Author/s: Lisa Walker (CSIRO)

In the quest for sustainable solutions to pressing global challenges, transdisciplinary approaches, that integrate insights and methods from various fields, are increasingly being recognised as key to driving change. This presentation will share insights from an evaluation of a five-year, $18 million sustainability science research program seeking to not only drive innovation but to also empower the next cohort of early career researchers (ECRs) to coordinate action across research, policy and practice to address complex sustainability problems.
Our formative, mixed-methods evaluation highlighted on-the-job learning, face-to-face engagement and networking as pivotal in building sustainability science capacity. We also found targeted recruitment, research team engagement and the provision of support and resources to supervisors as essential, and sometimes overlooked, components. This work contributes to the broader discussion on how evaluation can enhance the development of sustainability science, proposing a framework that emphasises the individual, team and institutional support mechanisms necessary for effective ECR capacity building.
Novelty in our approach lies in the integration of evaluative practices within the capacity-building process, offering a reflective lens on how transdisciplinary endeavours can be optimised to address sustainability challenges. This is particularly relevant for evaluators wanting to build their own skills, or those of others, to engage on complex sustainability issues. The study also underscores the significance of adaptive learning and evaluation in navigating the complexities of sustainability science, inviting a broader conversation on how evaluation can be leveraged to facilitate meaningful contributions to societal and planetary well-being.

Authors: Ossie Lang (RMCG ),Donna Lucas (RMCG ),Carl Larsen (RMCG ),Zarmeen Hassan (AUSVEG ),Cherry Emerick (AUSVEG ),Olive Hood (Hort Innovation )

How do you align ten regionally delivered projects with differing focus topics to nationally consistent outcomes? Take advantage of this opportunity to explore the journey of building and implementing a robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) program that showcases regional nuances and aligns national outcomes, making a significant contribution to the success of this horticultural industry extension project.

Join us for an insightful presentation on how a national vegetable extension project focused on adoption of best management practices on-farm, has successfully implemented a dynamic M&E program. Over the two and a half years of project delivery, the national M&E manager, in collaboration with ten regional partners, has crafted a program that demonstrates regional impact consistently on a national scale and adapts to the project's evolving needs.

The presentation will highlight the team's key strategies, including the upskilling of Regional Development Officers in M&E practices. Learn how templates and tools were designed to ensure consistent data collection across approximately 40 topics. The team will share the frameworks utilised to capture quantitative and qualitative monitoring data, providing a holistic view of tracking progress against national and regional outcomes and informing continuous improvement in regional delivery.

Flexibility has been a cornerstone of the M&E program, allowing it to respond to the changing needs of growers, industry, and the funding partner and seamlessly incorporate additional data points. Discover how this adaptability has enhanced the project's overall impact assessment and shaped its delivery strategy.

The presentation will not only delve into the national perspective but also feature a firsthand account from one of the Regional Development Officers. Gain insights into how the M&E program has supported their on-the-ground delivery, instilling confidence in providing data back to the national project manager. This unique perspective offers a real-world understanding of the national program's effectiveness at a regional level.

Authors: Donna Loveridge (Independent Consultant), Ed Hedley (Itad Ltd UK, GB)

The nature and magnitude of global challenges, such as climate change, poverty and inequality, biodiversity loss, food insecurity and so on, means that $4 trillion is needed annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Government and philanthropic funding is not enough but additional tools include businesses and sustainable finance. Evaluators may relate to many objectives that business and sustainable finance seek to contribute to but discomfort can arise in the mixing of profit, financial returns, impact and purpose.

Sustainable finance, impact investing, and business for good are growing globally and provides opportunities and challenges for evaluators, evaluation practice and the profession.
This session explores this new landscape and examines:

• What makes us uncomfortable about dual objectives of purpose and profit, notions of finance and public good, and unfamiliar stakeholders and languages, and what evaluators can do in response.
• The opportunities for evaluators to contribute to solving interesting and complex problems with current tools and skills and where is the space for developing evaluation theory and practice.
• How evaluation practice and evaluators' competencies might expand and deepen, and not get left behind in these new fields, and also sustaining evaluations relevance to addressing complex challenges.

The session draws on experience in Australia and internationally to share some practical navigation maps, tools and tips to help evaluators traverse issues of values and value, working with investors and businesses, and identify opportunities to add value.