aes26 International Evaluation Conference: Full Schedule

Presenter and chair information page, resources for conference presenters, authors and session chairs.

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9:00am ACST

Opening plenary: Welcome to Country followed by Robyn Ober "Being comfortable with discomfort"

Wednesday September 16, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am ACST

Welcome to Country: Kim Mulholland
Opening address: Kim Grey, President, Australian Evaluation Society

Being comfortable with discomfort
Robyn Ober, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Lead Researcher and Educator

This keynote challenges evaluators and commissioners to get comfortable with discomfort, and to rethink what ethical, rigorous evaluation looks like when it happens on Country.

Responding to the aes26 theme Making Space, Valuing Place, Dr Robyn Ober draws on three decades of practice in Aboriginal communities to show how traditional knowledge systems and contemporary evaluation can work together.

Through vivid stories from remote and very remote contexts, the talk brings to life the tensions at the heart of evaluation practice: timelines versus relationships, control versus trust, and methodological neatness versus lived reality. At the centre is the Community Researcher Approach, where local people are co-researchers who shape the questions in collaboration with evaluators, lead conversations in language, and make meaning on their own terms.

The talk argues that ethics and integrity are enacted in how we show up, who holds authority, and whether participants’ voices are recognised, respected and valued so they feel safe to share their own truths. Integrity is also enacted when Aboriginal people can see that the purpose of evaluation is for the benefit of Aboriginal people. You’ll leave with practical ways to commission and conduct evaluation on Country to strengthen voice, evidence quality and impact.

Chair

John Guenther

Research Leader, Education and Training, Batchelor Institute

John Guenther is a senior researcher and evaluator with the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, based in Darwin. Much of his work has been based in the field of education. He has worked extensively with community-based researchers in many remote parts of the Northern... Read More →

Speakers

Kim Mulholland

IvolveGen

Kim Mulholland is a proud Larrakia and Yanyuwa man and Founder of IvolveGen. His work sits at the intersection of Aboriginal Knowledge Systems, Social & Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB), trauma-informed practice, leadership, organisational development, ceremony and community healing. Over... Read More →

Robyn Ober

Lead Researcher and Educator, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

Robyn is a Mamu/Djirribal woman from Far North Queensland. She is a Lead Researcher and educator at Batchelor Institute and has extensive experience in the Northern Territory that spans three decades. She is well renowned for her expertise of both-ways pedagogy, working to combine... Read More →

Kim Grey

President, Australian Evaluation Society

Christabelle Darcy

Director, Evidence and Evaluation, NT Department of Treasury and Finance

I'm co-convenor of aes26, along with Alison Reedy. In my day job, I lead the Program Evaluation Unit within the Department of Treasury and Finance in the Northern Territory Government. We aim to help government achieve the best outcomes within the allocated budget and build an evidence-base... Read More →

Alison Reedy

Manager Evaluation, Northern Territory Government

I am an education and social science researcher and evaluator working in the Northern Territory Government. My recent work is in the evaluation of government programs, policy, strategy and legislation across the areas of housing, community development, arts and culture, local government... Read More →

Wednesday September 16, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am ACST
Hall 2

Plenary

Format Keynote address
Audience Level Advanced, Foundational, Intermediate

1:30pm ACST

Plenary: Lígia Teixeira "From evidence to impact: reclaiming evaluation as a means to an end"

Wednesday September 16, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm ACST

Hall 2

From evidence to impact: reclaiming evaluation as a means to an end
Lígia Teixeira, Founder and Chief Executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact

Evaluation has never been more sophisticated, yet many challenges it seeks to address remain stubbornly persistent. Across sectors, we generate high-quality evidence, but too often struggle to translate it into meaningful, sustained impact. The risk is not just a lack of rigour, but a loss of connection to purpose: the way evaluation is used within systems can allow it to become an end in itself, rather than a means to improve lives.This keynote argues for renewed focus on evaluation as a discipline of impact. Drawing on international efforts to tackle homelessness, it explores how outcomes are shaped not by individual interventions alone, but by the systems in which they operate. Without a systems lens, even strong and diverse forms of evidence – quantitative, qualitative and lived - can lead to fragmented action, missing the broader dynamics that ultimately determine success.

The keynote reflects on how evaluation can better connect global insight with local context, enabling faster learning while respecting place-based realities. It also argues that effective systems prevent harm before it occurs, rather than responding once it is entrenched.

This is a call to re-centre evaluation on its core purpose: not just to understand the world, but to change it.

Chair

Eleanor Williams

Managing Director, Australian Centre for Evaluation

Eleanor Williams is the Managing Director of the Australian Centre for Evaluation in the Commonwealth Department of the Treasury. She has worked in a variety of senior executive roles in the Victorian and Australian Governments, and is a former board member of the Australian Evaluation... Read More →

Speakers

Lígia Teixeira

Founder and Chief Executive, Centre for Homelessness Impact

Dr Lígia Teixeira is the Founder and Chief Executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact , part of the UK Government’s What Works Network. She works with governments and cities to rethink how homelessness is understood and addressed – using data, evidence, and experimentation... Read More →

Wednesday September 16, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm ACST
Hall 2

Plenary

Format Keynote address
Audience Level Advanced, Foundational, Intermediate

9:00am ACST

1:30pm ACST

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