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Session Title: Evaluation Capacity Building Through State Affiliates
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Panel Session 760 to be held in PRESIDIO B on Saturday, Nov 13, 10:00 AM to 10:45 AM
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Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Robert Shumer, University of Minnesota, rshumer@umn.edu
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| Abstract:
From GPRA to NCLB, and everything in between, evaluation is demanded by more and more organizations and agencies. In order to meet that demand we need to find new ways of teaching, recruiting, and providing professional development for the evaluation field. In this session we discuss the efforts for the Minnesota Evaluation Association, a state affiliate of AEA, to conduct outreach and build capacity for evaluation in all sectors of society. Panelists will discuss how the organization developed a strategic plan and then partnered with the Minnesota Campus Compact to hold regional meetings about evaluation practice. They then will discuss a state-wide study of all colleges and non-profits (partnering with the Minnesota Council of Non Profits) to discover all who teach and conduct evaluations. We conclude by discussing the results of these efforts on the evaluation field.
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Developing a Statewide Evaluation System
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| Robert Shumer, University of Minnesota, rshumer@umn.edu
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Developing a statewide evaluation system is one role played by AEA state affiliates. In this presentation we discuss how the MN Evaluation Association developed a strategic plan that called for coordinating efforts with other state organizations around evaluation, especially teaching and conducting evaluations in many different settings. We describe how the MN EA collaborated with the Minnesota Campus Compact to develop a series of six regional meeting dealing with evaluating civic engagement. Those meetings resulted in a plan to study all those faculty members who teach evaluation in colleges and universities, and then produced an evaluation planning document. In addition, the two organizations partnered with the Minnesota Council for Non Profits to conduct a study of evaluation teachers and evaluation service providers to produce a system of names and activities to be used to build evaluation capacity in the state.
Robert Shumer is past president of the MN EA and he initiated the project. He has 20 years experience evaluating civic engagement issues.
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Creating An Evaluation System for Civic Engagement
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| Julie Plaut, Minnesota Campus Compact, julie@mncampuscompact.org
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Conducting civic engagement programs is one of the primary goals of Minnesota Campus Compact. As a result of recent inquiries into important topics for Compact members evaluation was determined to be one of the highest priority areas. In this session we discuss how the Minnesota Campus Compact joined forces with the MN EA to conduct a series of regional meetings focusing on evaluation of civic engagement programs. The results of those meetings produced a general resource guide on evaluation issues and resources. It also included a study of evaluation faculty and individuals conducting evaluation in non-profits. The session concludes by discussing the results of both these efforts and how evaluation initiatives are becoming a part of the Minnesota Campus Compact plan.
Julie Plaut is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Campus Compact. She has many years experience creating evaluation systems for civic engagement programs.
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