aes26 International Evaluation Conference: Full Schedule

This is the draft aes26 program, subject to change. To register for workshops and the conference, go to: https://www.aes26.aes.asn.au/

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10:30am ACST

Evaluation reporting using infographics

Friday September 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am ACST

Rooms 3+4

Authors: Arun Jyothi Callapilli (Policy Performance) Charlie Tulloch (Policy Performance)

The session focuses on building skills in designing infographics and making effective data visualisation choices to enhance evaluation reporting. The session objective is to equip new and experienced evaluators with practical skills to transform traditional evaluation reports into clear, engaging and actionable visual based outputs.

This is important because evaluation reports are often text heavy and dense with evidence and associate findings. However, without effective visualisation, critical insights may be overlooked or misunderstood. Infographics can help bridge this gap by transforming evaluation evidence and findings into clear, engaging visual reports that enhance reader understanding and engagement and are more likely to be used.

The session is grounded in utilisation-focused evaluation principles (developed by Michael Quinn Patton), emphasising the importance of designing reports that facilitate use and effectively communicate significant findings to intended audiences.

The session’s main aims are to share and build knowledge and skills in:
•   visual data story telling techniques
•   applying effective design principles
•   understanding the strengths and limitations of different visual choices
•   accessibility considerations
•   avoiding common data visualisation pitfalls
•   tips and techniques on creating infographics
•   promoting consistency and accessibility in data presentations

This is a skill-building session using real-life case studies. Attendees will explore a range of tools, tips and visualisation choices, making live design decisions. They will work in small groups round tables to discuss options and apply principles of good design to create their own visuals, creating a collaborative and participatory learning environment.

Speakers

Charlie Tulloch

Director, Policy Performance

Policy Performance is a proud conference sponsor! Charlie delivers evaluation projects, capability building support and drives public sector improvement. Charlie loves to help those who are new to evaluation or transitioning from related disciplines. He is a past AES Board member... Read More →

Friday September 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am ACST
Rooms 3+4 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin City NT, Australia

Roots and routes

Format Skill building
Audience Level Foundational, Intermediate
Industry Education and training, Information media and telecommunications

11:30am ACST

What’s your problem? Navigating the impact of problematisation on evaluation

Friday September 18, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm ACST

Rooms 3+4

Author: Liesl Harrold, Australian Taxation Office
Problematisation is a deliberate process of dismantling a problem to understand the different ways of thinking that lead to the classification of phenomena as a problem. It goes beyond the construction of problem statements to focus on the effort required to understand historical and theoretical assumptions underpinning its framing. Problematisation is a way to test assumptions, generate new ideas, and make new connections to theoretical understandings. In evaluation, it has the potential to provide rigour to practices associated with judging through structuring evaluative thinking.

Using a skill building format, this paper will help participants understand the role of problems in evaluation. The format will follow an explain-model-apply in a group teaching format including practical application of selected trans-disciplinary theories and approaches. It will include a brief overview of:

•Problem logics and how they can be constructed
•Problem representation and the genealogy of problems
•Key theories that can support evaluators to think differently e.g. social identity and psychological safety theoretical frameworks.

Problematisation provides a systematic approach that offers evaluators support to think differently, rather than using existing knowledge to validate existing thoughts. Evaluators’ worldviews and skills influence their competence which may manifest in generalisations of the problem.

Problem-solving is a role in evaluation, as it supports the purpose of interventions in directing social change. They are primarily considered in the needs analysis phase of an evaluation to anchor program logics. However, this foundation has implications for intervention design, defining outcomes and establishing criteria of merit. Monitoring frameworks, particularly when using sentinel indicators, are also influenced by problem framing and assumptions.
Indigenous and transformative approaches, where the rectification of historical power imbalances is essential, would find this particularly relevant. Problematisation can prepare participants for truth-telling, a step in reconciling intergenerational trauma and stopping systemic violence (Payne & Norman, 2025).

Speakers

Liesl Harrold

Assistant Director, Small Business Evaluation Hub, Australian Taxation Office

Liesl works in the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), helping business areas deliver quality evaluations and to build their evaluation culture, capacity and practice. With over 25 years of evaluation experience, Liesl has also worked for Queensland Treasury and Trade where she assisted... Read More →

Friday September 18, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm ACST
Rooms 3+4 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin City NT, Australia

Boundaries and bridges

Format Skill building
Audience Level Foundational, Intermediate
Industry Economic development tourism and infrastructure, Education and training, Public administration and safety, Community and social services, Not for profit Philanthropy
ID 128

11:30am ACST

Across the aisle: building practical skills for navigating ethical pressures in evaluation commissioning

Friday September 18, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm ACST

Rooms 1+2

Authors: Su-Ann Drew, Grosvenor, Jo van Twest Farmer, Rooftop Social, Eleanor Williams, ACE, Emma Williams, Martina Donkers
Ethical pressures arise due to a range of conflicting incentives that for those who commission and deliver evaluations. Evaluators may try to maintain methodological rigour while meeting tight timeframes or limited budgets. Commissioners may need defensible evidence while navigating organisational expectations, political sensitivities or shifting priorities. These pressures are real and often lead to ethical tensions for all involved, without an agreed or shared language for discussion. This session creates space for attendees to discuss challenges openly, safely and constructively, helps participants recognise and make sense of pressures shaping commissioning decisions, and builds participants’ confidence in responding in ways that support both quality and working relationships.

Building on previous AES presentations on 'everyday ethics', we give participants tools to apply in real-world commissioning contexts by introducing a simple organising framework, the Evaluation Pressure System, which helps participants identify the mix of pressures influencing a situation and why tensions arise. The framework is a guide to support reflection and conversation rather than a technical model.

Using the framework, we will explore fictional but realistic scenarios that illustrate common pressure points in commissioning and evaluation delivery. Participants will be invited, through anonymous polling, to indicate the extent to which each scenario reflects situations they have encountered. Through in-room conversations, attendees will use the framework to examine what helps maintain integrity and constructive working relationships when pressures collide. The intention is not to analyse cases in depth, but to build a clearer shared understanding of tensions that arise and how they can be handled well.

To support ongoing application, attendees will receive a Trade‑off Log to clarify constraints and integrity risks, and practical communication strategies for raising concerns early and negotiating expectations. These will help participants recognise tensions earlier, discuss them more openly and navigate them in ways that support quality and collaboration.

Speakers

Su-Ann Drew

Senior Manager, Grosvenor

Su-Ann is a Manager specialising in program evaluation within Grosvenor’s public sector advisory practice. Su-Ann has more than a decade of rich and diverse professional experience, which enables her to offer a unique perspective and critical lens to solving complex problems for... Read More →

Format Skill building
Audience Level Foundational, Intermediate
Industry Community and social services, Public administration and safety, Not for profit Philanthropy
ID 179

aes26 International Evaluation Conference

10:30am ACST

Charlie Tulloch

11:30am ACST

Liesl Harrold

11:30am ACST

Su-Ann Drew

Emma Williams

Jo van Twest Farmer

Martina Donkers

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