Evaluation in a turbulent world: Challenges, opportunities and innovation in evaluation practice
2010 Annual Evaluation Conference
22-23 November 2010
Macdonald Burlington Hotel, Birmingham
Abstracts are now invited for this year's UKES Annual Evaluation Conference. The on-line submission form is available via the conference website www.profbriefings.co.uk/ukes2010
The closing date for receipt of submissions is 13 August 2010.
With the effects of the financial crisis still being felt, and with a new coalition government in Number 10, many evaluators find themselves operating in a very different policy environment. In particular the rhetoric has changed from tackling the crisis (a central theme of last year’s conference looking at impact) to talk of austerity and cutting back the public sector, a major source of sponsorship for evaluation. While this environment offers tough challenges, it also presents opportunities – in particular in the development and promotion of new evaluation methodologies, relationships and approaches. More than ever there will be a need to assess what is of value, what has quality and in what circumstances evaluation can contribute to informed policy-making and debate.
The themes of this year’s conference therefore revolve around the added value which evaluation brings to the policy process and how these benefits can be maximised; the ongoing development and future of how evaluation is conducted; and the circumstances in which evaluation can effectively and efficiently demonstrate value for money. The call for presentations and workshops reflect these themes under the following headings:
- Innovative and collaborative evaluation methods;
- Methodological challenges due to reduced budgets;
- Better utilisation of currently existing data sets and sources; and
- The role of the ‘professional’ evaluator.
The UKES conference offers an opportunity for members (from across government, academia, the voluntary and private sectors) to engage with the wider membership about the work they’re doing and to highlight promising new work, emerging best practice and innovation in all spheres of evaluation.
The Evaluation Conference 2009
Evaluating Impact in the Current Crisis
24-25 November 2009
The Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury
UKES conference reflections
Introduction
The 2009 conference was entitled “Evaluating impact in the current crisis”. Held over 2 days (24th and 25th November), the conference was packed with interesting presentations and lively discussions. There has been a very healthy return on the feedback forms and we are still processing these. Several of the presenters have indicated that they would be willing to write short pieces for the website and/or the Evaluator and longer articles for the Evaluation journal. So you will be hearing more about the conference in coming months! In the meantime, for those of you who attended, we are providing you with the opportunity to carry on the discussion. If you had any comments or questions that you wished to share, please send them to:
ukes@profbriefings.co.uk
These will be posted onto the website on the conference page along with any replies. To get the ball rolling- here are the first comments received- please feel free to respond by replying to:
ukes@profbriefings.co.uk
Comment 1: Reflections by Robert Picciotto, UKES Council member
Bob has written up his reflections more fully: Bob Picciotto reflections conference 2009
Bob concludes in his final paragraph:
“All good evaluation is democratic evaluation. Throwing the light of reason and bringing the weight of evidence to bear on the management of risks constitutes the new agenda for evaluation. Of course, bringing this agenda to life is not a job for just anyone. It requires rigor, independence of mind and courage. These are precisely the dispositions that the Conference had displayed. And this is why I am optimistic about the future of UKES.”
Do you agree with Bob? Do you agree with his views on the new agenda for evaluation? Are you as optimistic about the future of UKES based on your experience at the conference?
Comment 2: Jayne Francis, Senior Consultant, MEL Research
Jayne presented in one of the parallel sessions and led a fascinating discussion. She comments:
‘Many organisations, particularly those in the Third Sector, are experiencing a changed relationship with the Government – a relationship underpinned by a move away from organisational funding to the purchasing of services. This, potentially, leads to institutionalisation – a real threat to the autonomy of independent organisations.
Given the continued Government preference for ‘what works’ and ‘evidence-based policy’, with the emphasis on outcomes as indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, are evaluators at risk of providing evaluation commissioners with findings that are only ever palatable? And so, as we move towards the marketisation of public services, is there still a role for co-production – evaluators as critical friends?’
Do you agree with Jayne about recent trends? What do you think the impacts of such trends are for evaluation and the role of evaluators?
Comment 3: Richard Cotmore, UKES Secretary
Richard chaired a session in which Emma Roberts spoke about the involvement of young people as advisors to an evaluation. The evaluation was of volunteering initiatives with young people. The evaluators recruited 10 young people to a board and their input ranged from suggestions on evaluation design issues through to analysis and reporting. Emma discussed their role as “critical friends” to the evaluation and identified some benefits for the evaluation, including: more appropriate language used throughout; and impact on nature of recommendations made. Emma discussed the challenges too and we focussed on these in the session. Richard was surprised at the lack of competence most adults present felt in engaging with young people and there was some discussion about what preparation and support would be required for adult evaluators.
At what point do we lose our confidence to communicate with young people? It’s tempting to focus on the benefits that young people’s involvement can bring- but what are the drawbacks? How should evaluators address such challenges?