Evaluator and Evaluation Blogs
Evaluators are blogging! Some focus on evaluation, some do not. Look for the to identify AEA members. If you are a blogger, or on Twitter, send an email to info@eval.org to have your blog or twitter name considered for adding to the aea365.org/blog/ page.
The Chicagoland Evaluation Association (CEA) is pleased to announce the following candidates who are running for CEA leadership positions.
CEA Vice President Candidate Statements (1)
Sheila Rodriguez
I am honored to be nominated as a candidate for the position of Vice President-Elect of the Chicago Evaluation Association. For the past 2 years I have been an active member of the CEA. My passion lies in education, evaluation and research. My thinking about evaluation has been expanded by the knowledge shared and by my interactions with established and emerging evaluators who are as passionate, if not even more, about the importance of evaluation work. I am currently a research associate at Education Development Center (EDC) in Chicago, IL. I have extensive experience in evaluation and education research. I started my career, over 12 years ago, as a researcher and was given the opportunity to do some evaluation work, specifically in the afterschool realm and I fell in love with evaluation and have not looked back ever since. I continue to grow in my understanding and experience in evaluation work and the importance of evaluation in education.
If elected, in my role as Vice President I will promote the advancement of CEA’s mission through inclusive practices. I vow to listen intently and act purposefully in the best interest of the CEA membership to support and expand the range of diversity within CEA. I will engage in more dialogue that encourages collaboration and unify us in achieving a shared vision. Be a collaborative thought partner to the CEA President in creating a stronger and more viable leadership structure and provide any administrative supports, as necessary, that will move the work and vision of the CEA forward. Additionally, I will assist the President in expanding membership, events and activities throughout the full-term of this position. If I am fortunate enough to be elected, I pledge that I will honor my commitment to serve CEA with integrity, honesty and care for all in supporting the continued growth and development of CEA as a stronghold in evaluation.
CEA Secretary Candidate Statements (1)
Linda Galib
Hello Chicagoland Evaluation Association members! My name is Linda Galib (pronouns she/her), and I’m running for the position of CEA Secretary. I currently serve as Research and Evaluation Director at Urban Initiatives, a nonprofit organization that implements youth development programs in Chicago Public Schools. I’m also a full-time doctoral student pursuing a PhD in Research Methodology at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education. I strive to keep equitable evaluation practices at the center of my work, and am interested in developing strategies for making participation in evaluation as fun, equitable, and inclusive as possible for youth. Prior to Urban Initiatives, I was a Senior Analyst for the Government Accountability Office, where I evaluated federal health care programs and policies. I have master’s degrees in public health and public policy from the University of Michigan. In my spare time, I love experimenting with new sourdough recipes, running, yoga, anything involving the outdoors, and playing board games.
I truly appreciate CEA as an organization for serving as a valuable resource to build our networks and skills. I would love to become more active in CEA and would be honored to serve you all as CEA Secretary. In addition to my general love of evaluation and appreciation for this organization, I would bring strong communication, collaboration, and organizational skills, as well as dedication and commitment to the role. Thank you for your consideration!
Each candidate has been invited to introduce themselves and share their candidate statement at the CEA annual members’ meeting on December 9. Please RSVP here and join us for the meeting!
Voting will take place online from December 14 through 18. You will receive an email with a link to cast your ballot. Results will be announced by December 31, and the new officers will serve a 2-year term from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.
The Chicagoland Evaluation Association (CEA) is seeking nominations for the positions of Vice President and Secretary. This is a great opportunity to get more involved in CEA. Both positions will serve a 2-year term from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.
Use the form below to nominate yourself or another CEA member by Friday, November 13, 2020. Nominees will be contacted by the Nominating Committee to discuss the role and confirm their candidacy. Voting will take place online in mid-December.
About the positions:
The Vice President performs the duties of the President in the absence of, or at the request of the President. In the absence of the Treasurer and the President, the Vice-President is authorized to sign checks for disbursements as authorized by the Board. The Vice-President is a member ex-officio of the Program Committee and may be appointed to chair that Committee by the President. This is a new position that was added to the CEA board per the new CEA bylaws that were approved by the membership in December 2019.
The Secretary performs, or causes to be performed, the following tasks: maintains a master calendar for the organization, maintains the membership list, takes minutes at Board meetings, takes minutes at the Annual Business Meeting and makes them available to members, authenticates corporate records and maintains official corporate documents except those held by the Treasurer, verifies the security of ballots and of any Web site used for voting, and handles official correspondence for CEA.
Please feel free to contact any member of the Nominating Committee if you have questions or would like additional information: Ada Gomero (acgomero@gmail.com), Camille Lemieux (clemieux@edc.org) orRebecca Teasdale (rteasd2@uic.edu).
Chicagoland Evaluation Association members, the associate board of the CEA, are looking for opportunities to support our member network. If you have any opportunities (webinars, job postings, etc.) for individuals or a group (we have 99 members), you can get in touch with me at connect@evalchicago.org and we can talk more.
an interview with Dr. Anne Farrell, Director of Research, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
For this edition of The Chicagoland Evaluator, Dr. Rafiqah Mustafaa, Evaluation Coach at Planning, Implementation, Evaluation Org interviewed Dr. Anne Farrell, Director of Research at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Below, Rafiqah shares Dr. Farrell’s valuable tips on how readers might conduct rigorous translational research and evaluation that can be useful for decision-making.
1. Deeply examine the theory of change. This is an essential component of any project because it helps the evaluator or researcher to understand the logic behind the policy or program being examined. To understand this logic, Dr. Farrell suggests asking questions like what is this program/policy trying to accomplish? And who is involved in implementation?These answers provide a realistic idea of how the program operates, the outcomes that matter, and where our work can have the most impact. Too often, measurement of implementation is ignored, making it impossible to know what components are responsible for change (or lack thereof).
2. Seek the perspectives of various stakeholders including the policy’s intended beneficiaries and frontline workers. Inquiry into the effectiveness or impact of a policy or program involves an informed, collaborative dialogue. As evaluators, we have perspectives that shape our inquiry; however, there are many things we don’t know, or can’t know, because of our particular vantage points. It is important that we understand the perspectives of the beneficiaries, frontline workers, and other stakeholders, and use those perspectives to inform our evaluation process. In particular, equity-oriented evaluation efforts need to tap the perspectives of community members and individuals who are intended to benefit from initiatives and programs.
3. Study in depth the policy and its related regulations. Policy-oriented evaluators need to understand deeply the policies of interest in order to align evaluation to inform policy. To do this, evaluators can ask questions like what are the regulations associated with this policy?And how are the intended beneficiaries affected when laws, regulations, or appropriations change? By answering these questions, evaluators are better positioned to provide insightful analyses and relevant recommendations for decision-makers.
4. Focus on collecting data that is needed and useful. Dr. Farrell shared that she has become a measurement “minimalist” as she’s evolved in her career. Very often, heads of agencies, frontline staff, and intended beneficiaries are required to collect and/or report data that is never actually used in evaluation. Policy-oriented evaluators need to have a clear understanding of the purpose of each data point. Knowing this, we can use a more intentional approach to measurement that focuses on collecting quality, useful data, and minimize demands on the individuals involved in the data collection process.
This conversation with Dr. Anne Farrell highlighted that while evaluators bring to their work a range of interests, skillsets, and approaches, it is important to consider how we can be intentional in shaping our work to maximize its utility for policy and practice.
Dear CEA Members,
Welcome to our inaugural CEA Newsletter! We are excited to launch this quarterly newsletter to keep you informed about CEA events and interests. The CEA Executive Committee and Board have been busy! Our focus has been to rebuild CEA infrastructure and leadership by:
Please feel free to contact us at connect@evalchicago.org if you have any comments for CEA Leadership! I hope to see you soon at a CEA event!
Best,Asma Ali
Jazzin' at the Shedd with AEA President Leslie Goodyear
Wednesday, 08/22/2018 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605
The Chicagoland Evaluation Association is delighted to welcome AEA President Dr. Leslie Goodyear to our Annual Event at the Shedd Aquarium. Leslie will be speaking on the AEA 2018 Conference Theme, Speaking Truth to Power, the new Guiding Principles for Evaluators, and other AEA happenings.
Event Page: https://www.evalchicago.org/event-2816271
Evaluation & Community Collaboration Conference
Thursday, 08/30/2018 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM Lurie Children's, 11th Floor Conference Center, 225 E Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611
Representatives from Northwestern, community agencies, and the CDPH to talk about their experiences working together on comprehensive HIV prevention demonstration projects and will include discussion about working together to improve our response to HIV.
Event Page: https://www.evalchicago.org/event-3007373
Becoming Evaluation Ready: Evaluation Training Session for Community Organizations
Wednesday, 09/12/2018 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Lurie Children's, 11th Floor Conference Center, 225 E Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611
This session is designed for community organizations and will provide information on how to prepare for partnering with an evaluator and/or evaluating their programs. Event Page: https://www.evalchicago.org/event-3007375
Because CEA members have such tremendous talent and experience to share with other members, we are featuring one member post in our quarterly newsletters. If you are interested in sharing your work with other members - email us at connect@evalchicago.org.
and wield a MUCH more powerful evaluation tool
Hi, Amelia Kohm of the Data Viz for Nonprofits here to talk about logic models. The evaluation world is lousy with logic models. You may know logic model by one of its other names such as causal chain, model of change, roadmap, and theory of change. A logic model is really just a humble flow chart with an erudite name. It’s a visual representation of how an intervention or program is supposed to work. And it should help evaluators articulate evaluation questions and select appropriate methods and measures to answer them.
Lessons Learned
But what if we could plug a logic model into the real world? What if we could see how the plan is playing out in reality and make adjustments along the way?
Cool Trick
With data visualization software like Tableau, you can create a “living logic model. The current that animates it is real-time data. A living logic model compares theory to reality by showing progress to date. It also allows you to track the progress of subgroups and individuals. So it helps you to plan, to ask the right questions, and to make mid-course corrections.
A living logic model is more understandable and tangible than a traditional one. The user can scroll over any component in the model to learn more about it. Such descriptions can include photos and web links for interested users. A living logic model shows progress to date. Color saturation indicates the status of each component. And the user can click on any component to see what subgroups might be driving progress, stagnation, or regression.
Play around with this living logic model that I created for a tutoring program to get an idea of its potential. Scroll over components to get more information. Click on components to get data on individual students. Enjoy and please let me know if you have any questions.
- Amelia Kohm, Founder and Consultant, Data Viz for Nonprofits
