aes26 International Evaluation Conference

Author: Rick Cummings
It is estimated that about $2.4 billion was given in philanthropic and charitable causes in Australian in 2021(Philanthropy Australia, 2021, A Blueprint to Grow Structured Giving).  This is a very significant amount and yet there is little if any research on how these funds and programs are evaluated.

We are proposing a panel discussion moderated by a Fellow using a café layout to discuss issues related to philanthropy and evaluation.  The idea would be to look both at the role of evaluation in philanthropy and the role of philanthropy in evaluation.  The objective 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.
 
The panel will consist of representatives from Australian philanthropic agencies, organisations which rely on philanthropic donations, and Fellows who have conducted evaluations of programs funded by philanthropy. Each of these panel members will be asked to give a 5-minute presentation on the issues they have found in philanthropy and evaluation. These presenters will form a panel, with a Fellow as moderator.

Based on these talks and relevant research, tables will be provided a set of questions to for discussion and for them to provide feedback/questions for discussion with the panel members.  Each table will be facilitated by a Fellow or experienced evaluator.