aes26 International Evaluation Conference: Full Schedule

Presenter and chair information page, resources for conference presenters, authors and session chairs.

11:00am ACST

Introduction to Evidence for New, Emerging and Non-Evaluators

Wednesday September 16, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm ACST

Author: Charlie Tulloch (Policy Performance)

This session at the start of the conference orients new, emerging and non-evaluators to the types of topics and content they will encounter over the coming days. It provides a foundational overview of evidence-related fields (e.g. evidence, monitoring, evaluation, learning), debunks key concepts/language, offers insights into what evaluators do day-to-day, discusses values/valuing, ethical considerations, competencies and key steps usually considered when completing high quality evaluation projects.The session strengthens defines the boundaries and intersections of evaluation and other disciplines to understand this field of endeavour, the pathways in and the opportunities it offers.

The session’s main aims are to share and discuss:

How evidence is used in different policy and organisational landscapes

The roles and types of projects led by evaluators

Techniques frequently used by evaluators•Ways that evaluators think (logic, data, outputs, outcomes, impact)

Why and when evaluations happen (or do not)

Practical tips for evaluation commissioners and working with evaluators

Capability building (skills and knowledge) to promote use of evaluation in-house

A seven-stage approach to planning and conducting an evaluation project

Essential skills of evaluators, including logic modelling, defining key/interview questions, forming value judgments, and selecting effective evaluation approaches/methods.The session will provide attendees with an opportunity to ask questions anonymously, so they feel very comfortable as the conference commences.

Questions will be addressed during the session, creating an open, interactive discussion.The session will also provide an overview of the conference structure, learning opportunities and flow, to provide a guide to attendees about how to gain the most value from their time.

Chair

Sophie Henness

Consultant, ARTD Consultants

Speakers

Charlie Tulloch

Director, Policy Performance

Policy Performance delivers evaluation projects, capability building support and supports public sector and organisational improvement. Charlie also helps those who are new to evaluation or transitioning from related disciplines. He is a past AES Board member and current member of... Read More →

Wednesday September 16, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm ACST
Hall 2

Special

Format Big room
Audience Level Foundational
Industry Public administration and safety, International development, Community and social services, Not for profit Philanthropy

4:30pm ACST

Professional isolation in evaluation: AES members’ experiences, and ways to strengthen peer connection and community

Wednesday September 16, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm ACST

Hall 2

Authors: Martina Donkers, Julie Elliott

Professional isolation is an experience that, ironically, many evaluators share. As evaluators, we often find ourselves in a team of one – the only evaluator in the room, the only evaluator at the organisation, one bringing an evaluative lens to the problem. This can be hard. It can feel like people are turning to us for more answers than we have, or expecting something unrealistic. Sometimes we find ourselves feeling isolated due to our culture, our methodological approach or our disciplinary background.
There are structural ways isolation shows up – evaluators who work remotely in regional areas, evaluators who are self-employed, evaluators who balance their role with kids and family responsibilities. These experiences can leave us feeling like an outsider, with no one to test ideas, no one to help when the going gets rough, and no one to help grow our capabilities.
This panel session will explore AES members’ experiences of professional isolation, and what has worked (and not worked!) to help them combat it. We’ll present anonymised experiences from AES members about professional isolation to show attendees they aren’t alone.
We’ll then hear from 3 panellists at different stages of their professional journey, and what they’ve done to address professional isolation they’ve felt as evaluators. Finally, we’ll open the floor to questions – how can we feel more connected in our work? – and explore a range of ways that we can combat professional isolation in our field. This panel is presented by the AES Peer Group Mentoring Program Working Group, and considers how the program helps strengthen connection to peers. It also extends thinking beyond AES initiatives, and considers other ways that evaluators can combat professional isolation in a disconnected world. If you’ve ever felt lonely as an evaluator, this session is for you.

Chair

Andrew Boyle

Andrew Boyle Consulting

Andrew Boyle is an Australian monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) specialist and Principal Consultant at Andrew Boyle Consulting. His work focuses on organisational learning, Theory of Change, evaluation capacity strengthening and culturally responsive practice, particularly... Read More →

Speakers

Martina Donkers

Independent evaluator

I'm a self-employed evaluator who gets to works on lots of different interesting projects with lots of different excellent teams - how good is that! I like qual methods, complexity, making sure evaluation is useful, and helping people grapple with what data really mean. I run qual... Read More →

David Roberts

Principal Consultant, RobertsBrown

David Roberts is a Fellow of the AES has a M.Eval.Ass and BA(Hons). He is semi-retired as a self-employed consultant. He has wide experience over 40 years in evaluations using both qualitative and quantitative methods. David has training and experience in Anthropology, Evaluation... Read More →

Jill Thomas

Senior Consultant, Jill Thomas Evaluation

Jill Thomas (MEval, MBusSys) is the Director of Jill Thomas Evaluation, a collaborative consultancy dedicated to advancing social good through the development of effective evaluation systems, projects, and products. With extensive experience as a consultant evaluator and analyst... Read More →

Paula White

Equity / Impact Measurement, Independent Evaluator

Bethany Hanson

Manager Review and Evaluation, TAFE NSW

Beth combines her extensive NSW Government and consultancy experience on evaluation projects spanning environment, sustainability, education and First Nations programs. Beth has led the design of several large portfolio evaluation frameworks at state and federal level. She's now applying... Read More →

Wednesday September 16, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm ACST
Hall 2

Special

Format Panel
Audience Level Intermediate
Industry Public administration and safety, Community and social services, Education and training, Not for profit Philanthropy, Health and disability
ID 311

10:30am ACST

aes26 Fellows Forum Philanthropy and Evaluation – What Gives?

Thursday September 17, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am ACST

Waterfront 3

Author: Rick Cummings, Program Evaluation Services, Alan Woodward, Alan Woodward Consulting, Jen Lorains, Childrens Ground, Chelsea Arten, 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.

Chair

Delyth (Del) Lloyd

Speakers

Nicola Johnstone

Principal, Impact and Insights, Minderoo Foundation

Jess Dart

CEO, Clear Horizon

Dr Jess Dart is the founder and CEO of Clear Horizon, an Australian-based specialist evaluation company. Having received the 2018 Outstanding Contribution to Evaluation Award from the Australian Evaluation Society (AES), Jess is a recognised leader with over 25 years of experience... Read More →

Rick Cummings

Emeritus Professor, Murdoch University

Rick Cummings is an Emeritus Professor in Public Policy at Murdoch University. He has 40 years of experience conducting evaluation studies in education, training, health, and crime prevention primarily for the state and commonwealth government agencies and the World Bank. He currently... Read More →

Catherine Wade

Principal Research Specialist, Parenting Research Centre

Dr Catherine Wade is Principal Research Specialist at the Parenting Research Centre and a Research Affiliate with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. Catherine is leading a programme of research at the Parenting Research Centre investigating aspects of the... Read More →

Jen Lorains

Director Research & Evaluation, Childrens Ground

Jen Lorains is the Director of Research & Evaluation at Children’s Ground. She works with each community to evaluate and evidence the impact of Children’s Ground’s empowerment, systems reform and integrated service platform.Jen has undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications... Read More →

Alan Woodward

Principal, Alan Woodward Consulting

My evaluation experience is broad, ranging from the conduct of evaluations of programs and services, the commissioning of evaluations, the engagement of communities on evaluation activities, the design of evaluation strategies and capacity building within organisations. I work in... Read More →

Caroline Henwood

Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager, The Ian Potter Foundation

I am always intrigued by how we come to definitions, how words resonate differently for individuals and what it all means. On a more practical note! I am interested in people's perceptions on proportionality, how we think about it, and how we support it when it is often not what appears... Read More →

Thursday September 17, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am ACST
Waterfront 3 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin City NT, Australia

Special

Format Panel
Audience Level Intermediate, Foundational
Industry Not for profit Philanthropy
ID 1010

4:00pm ACST

Quality evaluation that makes a difference: continuing the conversation

Thursday September 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm ACST

Rooms 3+4

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.

Chair

Marion Norton

Manager Research and Evaluation, Qld DJAG

Speakers

Eleanor Williams

Managing Director, Australian Centre for Evaluation

Eleanor Williams is the Managing Director of the Australian Centre for Evaluation in the Commonwealth Department of the Treasury. She has worked in a variety of senior executive roles in the Victorian and Australian Governments, and is a former board member of the Australian Evaluation... Read More →

Kara Scally-Irvine

Ksi Consulting

Anabelle (Pin-Ju) Chen 陳品儒

President/Evaluator, Taiwan Pride Sydney

Hi, I am Anabelle. I am an evaluator, data analyst and the President of Taiwan Pride Sydney. You might notice my profile picture is from my work as a DJ (O’a Gem, sound-alike for oyster omelette in Taiwanese 🇹🇼 ). I kept it because the skillsets are surprisingly identical... Read More →

Caitlin Morton

Independent Consultant

I’m Dr Caitlin Morton, I’m passionate about turning knowledge into power to help people solve the world’s biggest problems. I do this as an independent evaluator based on Awabakal Country in Newcastle, NSW Australia. I can help you use data and evidence to improve outcomes by... Read More →

Carina Calzoni

AES

I have been a member of the AES for over 25 years, and am now part of the AES management team - as the Policy Officer. It's an exciting role that brings together my experiences in evaluation and policy working in government and the private sectors. I am committed to creating positive... Read More →

QETMAD Consultation Paper Final docx

Thursday September 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm ACST
Rooms 3+4 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin City NT, Australia

Special

Format Round table
Audience Level Intermediate, Advanced
Industry Arts and recreation services, Economic development tourism and infrastructure, Community and social services, Education and training, Environment and climate change, Health and disability, Information media and telecommunications, International development, Natur
ID 266

11:30am ACST

Evaluation professionalisation: where to from here?

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

Hall 2

Authors: Eleanor Williams, ACE, Jade Maloney, ARTD, Jess Buchwald, Verian, Carina Calzoni, AES

Did you grow up wanting to be an evaluator? For most of us the answer is no, and there is value in the way we have all fallen into evaluation profession from diverse backgrounds.

But what does this mean for our career pathways and the way others think of evaluation and evaluators? What does it mean for evaluation as a profession?

As the leading voice for evaluation in Australian, the Australian Evaluation Society has long considered options for and pathways to professionalisation that strengthen our roots as a society, and develop the routes to a future in which evaluation profession is increasingly recognised and valued.

The 2024-2028 AES Strategic Plan firmly put considering pathways to professionalisation back on the agenda. A working group has since been exploring options for professionalisation, drawing on learnings from the review undertaking by Peersman and Rogers in 2017, consistent with the AES values, and informed by the experiences of other evaluation associations and other professionalisation associations in Australia.
Now it’s time to seek your views because professionalisation is for you, the Australian evaluation community.

Harnessing the success of the fishbowl approach to exploring quality evaluation that makes a difference at the 2025 conference, we are inviting everyone to jump in and share their thoughts about the value professionalisation would provide, and the risks to be managed to ensure the pathway are accessible, inclusive and respectful of diverse ways of knowing. The working group understands there are diverse views on professionalisation and invites these to be surfaced in this conversation.

The session will be facilitated by professionalisation working group co-chairs Eleanor Williams, Jade Maloney and Jess Buchwald with opportunities to contribute live or through written formats. The working group will use what you share in shaping the route forward.

And yes, there will again be chocolate fish rewards for contributors.

Just think: What would it look like if the next generation could grow up wanting to be an evaluator? What if when you became an evaluator you could see a clear pathway forward?

Chair

Simon Alaba

Manager, ARTD

Speakers

Jade Maloney

CEO, ARTD

I work with government agencies, not-for-profits and citizens to co-design, refine, communicate and evaluate social policies, regulatory systems and programs. I am passionate about ensuring citizens have a voice in shaping the policies that affect their lives, translating research... Read More →

Eleanor Williams

Managing Director, Australian Centre for Evaluation

Jess Buchwald

Client Lead, Verian

Carina Calzoni

AES

Strategic priorities 2024 2028 pdf

AES Professionalisation project background paper pdf

Friday September 18, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm ACST
Hall 2

Special

Format Round table
Audience Level Foundational, Intermediate
Industry Not for profit Philanthropy, Public administration and safety, International development
ID 243

1:30pm ACST

Building critical thinking into your writing

Friday September 18, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm ACST

Waterfront 1

Authors: John Guenther, Batchelor Institute, Nicole Tujague, Southern Cross University, Anthea Rutter, Honorary Research Fellow, Jeffery Adams, Eastern Institute of Technology
The editorial team of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia publishes a broad range of evaluation articles covering evaluation practice, theory, and application. One of the issues that regularly arises for reviewers and editors is the depth of thinking expressed in manuscripts. In most cases this concern could be addressed with more critical thinking, particularly in manuscripts that describe evaluation findings, or discuss elements of evaluation practice.

In this interactive session the editorial team will discuss how to write with a more critical approach. This may be of value, not just in writing for journal articles, but in reports, and in framing evaluation recommendations, developing theories of change, logic models and discussing evaluation implications.

We will first discuss what ‘critical thinking’ means from theoretical and practical perspectives, before providing some examples of how writing can be changed from being a largely uncritical and surface level description, towards a deeper critical approach that engages with theory, with existing literature and with logic, judgement and arguments aligned with evaluative thinking.

We will conclude the session with some practical examples that participants can work through together and discuss with the broader group. Our intent is to help evaluators and anyone who writes reports and articles to enrich their writing so that readers can draw conclusions based on evidence, argument, reasoning and logic, while at the same time ensuring clarity and easy reading.

Chair

Dru Armstrong

Evaluation and Impact Manager, Health and Wellbeing Queensland

Much of my work sits in the space of finding practical ways to bring systems thinking, equity and learning into public-sector evaluation while meeting the demand for quantification, attribution and economic value. I love the challenge of evaluating in complexity and initiatives that... Read More →

Speakers

John Guenther

Research Leader, Education and Training, Batchelor Institute

John Guenther is a senior researcher and evaluator with the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, based in Darwin. Much of his work has been based in the field of education. He has worked extensively with community-based researchers in many remote parts of the Northern... Read More →

Nicole Tujague

Senior Lecturer, Southern Cross University

Jeff Adams

Managing Editor, Evaluation Journal of Australasia | Eastern Institute of Technology

I am the Managing Editor of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia - talk to me about publishing in, or reviewing for the journal. I am also Professor of Public Health at the Eastern Institute of Technology, Auckland.

Anthea Rutter

Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne

Anthea Rutter is an Honary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Education at The University of Melbourne. Anthea has extensive experience working with a wide range of community and national organisations. She is particularly knowledgeable and experienced in social research including... Read More →

Friday September 18, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm ACST
Waterfront 1 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin City NT, Australia

Special

Format Long paper
Audience Level Intermediate, Advanced
Industry Education and training
ID 41

11:00am ACST

4:30pm ACST

10:30am ACST

4:00pm ACST

11:30am ACST

1:30pm ACST

Get help with the event