Upcoming Events and Important Dates

2026


February-June

  • AEA's Spring 2026 Workshop Series

    • New this spring, grow your skills with AEA’s Spring 2026 Workshop Series—featuring 11 engaging virtual professional development workshops. Registrants will participate in 3- to 6-hour sessions designed to deepen knowledge of timely evaluation topics, learning directly from seasoned professionals with real-world expertise.

Monday, March 30-Friday, May 1

  • Evaluation 2026: Call for Proposals
    • Evaluation 2026 invites proposals that deliver clear, engaging, and practical learning experiences for evaluators across career stages. We seek sessions that help attendees build skills, deepen expertise, exchange ideas, and connect, whether they are new to evaluation or long-time practitioners. Learn more about submitting your proposal.

Tuesday, March 31

  • AEA/MERL Tech Hackathon Launch

    • Join Zach Tilton (MERL Tech Initiative) and Zachary Grays with AEA staff for an informational webinar for this year's hackathon. During this webinar, Zach and Zachary will expand on the hackathon concept and share how to access the tools needed to participate. Registration is required to attend.

Thursday, April 9

Sunday, April 12-Saturday, April 19

  • AEA and MERL Tech Micro Hackathon
    • Back by popular demand, the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and The MERL Tech Initiative are excited to present the 2026 Hackathon--Virtual Edition! This beginner-friendly hybrid hackathon challenges participants to create ethical AI-powered solutions for real-world evaluation problems. Everyone is invited to participate regardless of skill level or experience.

      Choose one of three paths—Critique, Create, or Collab—to explore how AI can and should be used in evaluation practice. Participants will build practical AI literacy and learn new skills without judges, paywalls, or overwhelm. All completed entries will be entered into a lottery to win prizes courtesy of AEA and MERL Tech.

Tuesday, April 14

  • AEA Town Hall: Engaging with Government to Communicate the Value of Evaluation
    • Join the American Evaluation Association Evaluation Policy Task Force for a virtual Town Hall on April 14 at 2 pm ET, bringing together practitioners and policy experts to share strategies for engaging the policy process on behalf of evaluation and data. From responding to requests for information (RFIs) to writing public comments and communicating with Congress, evaluators have more tools at their disposal than they may realize—and a community ready to support them. Registration is required to attend.

Monday-Saturday, November 16-21:

  • Evaluation 2026
    • More details to come! Registration will open in late summer.
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