aes26 International Evaluation Conference

Author: Rick Cummings, Program Evaluation Services, Alan Woodward, Alan Woodward Consulting, Jen Lorains, Childrens Ground, Adriaan Wolvaardt, Minderoo, Catherine Wade, Parenting Research Centre

It is estimated that over $2.4 billion is given annually in philanthropic and charitable causes in Australian. This is a very significant amount of funding and yet there is little to no research on how these funds and programs are evaluated. The AES Fellows are conducting an interactive session to look both at the role of evaluation in philanthropy and the role of philanthropy in evaluation.
The aim is to identify issues in this field, to generate discussion between attendees and philanthropic organisations, and to build some bridges between evaluators and philanthropists for future research and evaluation activities. We have representatives from three of the key stakeholder groups in this area – philanthropic organisations, agencies relying on philanthropic funding, and evaluators who have worked in this area - to give short presentations on their experiences working in this area and issues which they face.
These presenters will form a panel, with a Fellow as moderator. Based on these talks, audience groups will be formed and facilitated by a panel member or a Fellow to discuss issues and experiences. From these discussions, the panel will then respond to these audience generated issues/questions.