|
Session Title: Evaluation in Federal Agencies: What Shapes It, and How Could the American Evaluation Association be Part of the "What"?
|
|
Panel Session 678 to be held in Calvert Ballroom Salon C on Friday, November 9, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
|
|
Sponsored by the AEA Conference Committee
|
| Chair(s): |
| Michael Morris,
University of New Haven,
mmorris@newhaven.edu
|
| Discussant(s):
|
| Debra Rog,
Westat,
debrarog@westat.com
|
| Abstract:
The Forum will explore how state-of-the-art knowledge and expertise in evaluation can be more effectively linked to the formulation of evaluation policy at the federal level. Panelists from three different federal agencies will address the following questions: (1) How is evaluation policy established in their agency? (2) What types of evaluation-related input would their agency welcome from a professional organization such as the American Evaluation Association? (3) What are the means through which AEA could provide such input? Against this background, panelists will also discuss the following: To what extent will the 2008 Presidential election and its aftermath present opportunities for the professional evaluation community to play a greater role in the formulation of evaluation policy? What factors are likely to facilitate or hinder this influence? When a professional organization endeavors to elevate its public profile at the federal level, what cautionary tales should it be mindful of?
|
|
Overview
|
| Wendell Primus,
United States House of Representatives,
wendell.primus@mail.house.gov
|
|
Wendell Primus will provide an overview of key issues in evaluation at the federal level, setting the stage for the panelists' presentations on specific agencies. Dr. Primus is especially well-suited to this task. He is currently Health Policy Advisor to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and his previous positions include Minority Staff Director of the Joint Economic Committee for the U.S. Congress, Director of Income Security for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy at the Department of Health and Human Services, and staff director for the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Ways and Means Committee. Dr. Primus received his Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University.
|
|
|
Evaluation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|
| Thomas Chapel,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
tchapel@cdc.gov
|
|
Thomas Chapel will discuss the process of strategic planning and evaluation design at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he serves as Senior Evaluation Scientist in the Office of Workforce and Career Development. An author of a number of articles and chapters on evaluation, he has an MA in public policy and an MBA, both from the University of Minnesota.
| |
|
Evaluation at the National Institute of Justice
|
| Patrick Clark,
National Institutes of Justice,
patrick.clark@usdoj.gov
|
|
Patrick Clark will focus on evaluation at the National Institute of Justice, where he is Acting Chief of the Evaluation Research Division. He has 30 years of experience in evaluation research in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and has a Ph.D. in psychology from Michigan State University.
| |
|
Evaluation at the National Science Foundation
|
| Bernice Anderson,
National Science Foundation,
banderso@nsf.gov
|
|
Bernice Anderson will examine the approach to evaluation taken in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she serves as Senior Advisor for Evaluation. Her publications include Breaking the Barriers: Helping Female and Minority Students Succeed in Mathematics and Science. Dr. Anderson received her doctorate in education from Rutgers University.
| |