aes26 International Evaluation Conference

Author: Eleanor Williams, Kara Scally-Irvine, Anabelle Chen, Caitlin Morton, Carina Calzoni

The AES has been exploring its vision of “quality evaluation that makes a difference” through a strategic project - engaging members and examining evaluation theory and practice. This work has surfaced a central challenge: while the phrase is compelling, its meaning is complex, contested, and shaped by context.
This roundtable begins from that complexity but does not seek to resolve it. Instead, it focuses on what comes next.
We will briefly share insights from the journey so far, including the multiple dimensions of “evaluation”, “quality”, and “making a difference”. These span tensions between evaluation as process, product, and profession; competing perspectives on quality and diverse understandings of use and influence across contexts and stakeholders.
The primary purpose of the session is to continue this conversation across the AES community. Participants will engage in facilitated small-group discussions to explore key questions: What does quality evaluation mean in your context? Who defines it? What does “making a difference” look like and for whom? How should these conversations evolve as contexts, practice, and membership change?
Participants will then work together to identify practical ways to sustain and deepen engagement. The session will capture and share these ideas to inform AES’s ongoing work.
Designed for intermediate to advanced evaluators, this roundtable creates space for collective reflection and future-oriented dialogue. This supports the AES vision by keeping the conversation alive recognising that what constitutes “quality evaluation that makes a difference” must continue to evolve with the field.es a difference” must continue to evolve with the field.