aes26 International Evaluation Conference

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

Jemima Walsh

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About me

Evaluator on sabbatical. I’m attending the conference to reflect on past practice and keep up with emerging trends. Tell me what you’re currently finding energising or challenging in the sector or just chat to me about your favourite books and holidays!

9:00am ACST

Opening plenary: Welcome to Country followed by Robyn Ober "Being comfortable with discomfort" Hall 2Robyn Ober • Kim Grey

11:00am ACST

Beyond Silos: A Technology–Evaluation Partnership Building a Digital Data Pipeline Waterfront 2Jake Clark • Kristine Tuban • Martin Holmstrand Application of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in evaluation within the social services context Rooms 3+4Lucy Walker • Matt Healey • Catherine Wade Practical ways to make space for place in the Evaluation of Regreening Waterfront 3Alice Muller

11:30am ACST

Building your first AI evaluation assistant: From setup to first analysis Rooms 3+4Lucy Walker • Ethel Karskens • Maree Dibella What makes place-based evaluation different? Waterfront 3Jessica Smart • Suzanne Butler • Lorraine Heywood • Gary Field • Fiona Merlin

12:00pm ACST

The ethics of independence – what does ‘independent evaluation’ mean in 2026? Hall 2Sophie Henness • Jo van Twest Farmer

1:30pm ACST

Plenary: Lígia Teixeira "From evidence to impact: reclaiming evaluation as a means to an end" Hall 2Eleanor Williams • Lígia Teixeira

2:30pm ACST

Epistemic Justice: victim survivors of child sexual abuse as co-evaluators Waterfront 1Anona Armstrong • Nic Vogelpoel • Malika Reese • Angela Obradovic Ignites Waterfront 2Linda Gyorki • Robert Grimshaw • Kirstin Clements • Martina Donkers • Fiona Scott-Melton • Louise Parker • Feby Savira • Louise Green • Lily Edwards Beyond Symbolic Inclusion - Building a Collective Mandate for Indigenous-Led Understanding Measurement Evaluation & Learning (UMEL) Hall 2Rick Cummings • Corinne Hodson • Jess Yamaguchi • Liz Wren • Slade Sibosado • Gulwanyung Moran

4:00pm ACST

Evaluating home, housing and needs of young people in the Northern Territory: Towards a layered, relational evaluation model Hall 2Andrew Boyle • Paul Royce • Ian Falk

4:30pm ACST

Ignites Waterfront 2Vanessa Hood • Delyth Lloyd • Estelle Gaillard • Amanda Taylor-Short • Anabelle (Pin-Ju) Chen 陳品儒 • Heather Bryan • Louise Parker Evaluating projects using social capital framework in refugee communities in Australia Waterfront 1Kizzy Gandy • Ali Rasoli • Samantha Cherian

9:00am ACST

Plenary: Emmanuel Jimenez "Putting Money Where the Evidence Is: a perspective from international development" Hall 2Emmanuel_Jimenez

10:30am ACST

From Paper to People: Community-Centred Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for Vanuatu Education & Training Sector Waterfront 1Jill Juliane Wai • Fremden Yanhambath • Ellis Silas • Harrison Selmen Scalability and scaling in and across place: A practical framework for complexity-informed evaluation practice Rooms 3+4Jemima Walsh • Matt Healey

11:30am ACST

When the story turns against the evidence: Navigating media scrutiny as evaluators Rooms 3+4Jemima Walsh • Stephanie Carter • Megan Anderson • Felicity Miles

1:30pm ACST

Process tracing in practice: testing causal claims with mixed evidence Rooms 3+4Justine Smith • Kizzy Gandy

2:00pm ACST

An open discussion on research and evaluation that works for remote communities Waterfront 3Mardi Grundy • Jillian Marsh • Laura Bird • Kate Dixon

2:30pm ACST

Monitoring on a shoestring: How reproducible reporting can help make better use of data. Rooms 3+4Justine Smith • Stephanie Quail • Sophie Henness

4:00pm ACST

Meeting new challenges with better theories of change Hall 2Zoe Enticott • Patricia Rogers • Emil Laurberg Mogensen

9:00am ACST

Plenary: Selwyn Button "Insight that Delivers: How Good Evaluation Shapes Better Policy and Practice", and handover to aes27 Hall 2Selwyn Button

10:30am ACST

How to evaluate a company Waterfront 2Victoria Pilbeam • Gerard Atkinson Evaluation reporting using infographics Rooms 3+4Charlie Tulloch Who defines a ‘professional’ evaluator? Roots and routes across government reform and the evaluation field Hall 2Simon Alaba • Jade Maloney • Eleanor Williams • Liz Wren • Ruth Nicholls • Tony Kiessler • Nigel McPaul

11:00am ACST

Insights from the implementation of Bridget House: Culturally responsive emergency housing Waterfront 1Ashilta Prasad • Maedeh Aboutalebi

11:30am ACST

One dataset, many destinations: Building evaluation routes to policy impact and systems change Waterfront 3Kira Duggan • Annabel Prescott Evaluation professionalisation: where to from here? Hall 2Simon Alaba • Jade Maloney • Eleanor Williams • Jess Buchwald

1:30pm ACST

Making Space for Economics: Lessons from Comparative Advantage in CGIAR Waterfront 2Mak Khan RMDG Australia • Matthew Armstrong The 2026 (Mostly-Serious) Crowd-Sourced Debate: Evaluation’s pluralism and its external influence Hall 2David Roberts • Kate Mckegg • Matt Healey • Rick Cummings • Bethany Hanson • Emily Gates • Martina Donkers • George Argyrous Learnings from the field: why prisoner voice matters in the evaluation of criminogenic programs Rooms 3+4Paula Shaw • Syl Johns Building critical thinking into your writing Waterfront 1John Guenther • Nicole Tujague • Jeff Adams • Anthea Rutter

2:00pm ACST

Making Outcomes Stick: A Practical Approach to Collecting Evaluation-Ready data in a Complex Environment Waterfront 3Themis Antony

2:30pm ACST

Closing plenary: Emily Gates "When “What’s Right” is Contested: Ethical Reflexivity in Systemic Change" Hall 2Emily Gates • Kim Grey

My Chair Sessions

10:30am ACST

Scalability and scaling in and across place: A practical framework for complexity-informed evaluation practice Rooms 3+4Jemima Walsh • Matt Healey

11:30am ACST

When the story turns against the evidence: Navigating media scrutiny as evaluators Rooms 3+4Jemima Walsh • Stephanie Carter • Megan Anderson • Felicity Miles