The Center für Evaluation (CEval) was proud to participate in the American Evaluation Association (AEA) Conference 2024, featuring our esteemed book authors Oludotun Babayemi, Maurya West Meiers, and Professor Stewart I. Donaldson (second from left to right), alongside Tanja Stockmann (far left) and Professor Reinhard Stockmann (far right).
The Center für Evaluation (CEval) had the exciting opportunity to participate in the American Evaluation Association (AEA) Conference 2024, which took place from October 21-26 in Portland, Oregon. The conference theme was “Amplifying and Empowering Voices in Evaluation,” and brought together evaluation professionals from around the world to share insights and explore the latest developments in the field.
CEval showed its dedication to amplifying voices around the globe by contributing an engaging and thought-provoking session led by Prof. Stockmann, titled “Driving and Hindering Forces of the Institutionalization of Evaluation in a Global Perspective,” on 25th October. Prof. Stockmann shared findings from a large-scale research project that began in 2016. This project, which examined the institutionalization of evaluation in 50 country case studies worldwide and 10 on transnational organizations and networks, offered valuable insights into the political, social, and professional forces that influence the adoption, practice, and use of evaluation worldwide.
Panelists were authors representing the Americas and yet-to-be-published Africa volume: Dr. Stewart I. Donaldson, PhD, Distinguished University Professor and Executive Director of the Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC), past president of the American Evaluation Association and author of the US chapter in the Americas volume; Maurya West Meiers (M.A., M.Ed.), Senior Evaluation Officer at the World Bank Group and author of the chapter describing World Banks contribution to the institutionalization of Evaluation in the Americas; and Oludotun Babayemi, founder of Cloneshouse, and evaluation specialist as well as author of the Nigeria chapter in the Africa volume. Further planned panelist Claudia Maldonado, Professor at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics in Mexico City, Mexico, author of the Mexico chapter and representing South America; as well as Asela R. Kalugampitiya from the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office, Sri Lanka, and immediate past President of Asia Pacific Evaluation Association, contributing author to three chapters in the Asia-Pacific volume (Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka) were sadly unable to attend. Nonetheless, the session sparked an engaging discussion on how different regions can strengthen their evaluation systems and learn from global examples, with all remaining participants, as well as the audience, offering valuable insights and perspectives.
The session was moderated by Tanja Stockmann, a young Evaluator at CEval GmbH, and coordinator of the book series.
The conference provided a unique opportunity to connect with experts and professionals from all around the world. We were encouraged by the positive feedback we received for our projects, and it was inspiring to see so many others dedicated to advancing the field. During the conference, Professor Stockmann was especially pleased to exchange views on past, present, and future developments in evaluation with Dr. Michael Quinn Patton (middle), Founder and CEO of Utilization-Focused Evaluation and a pioneer in evaluation studies. The variety of perspectives and the wealth of expertise shared throughout the conference left us inspired and motivated to bring new approaches back home.
