Our theme for 2021 is “AEA at 35: Meeting the Moment”. It is a time for celebration and also a time for reflection on our practice of evaluation. It is a time for us to share our stories about what we have learned over the past 35 years.
“Meeting the Moment” begs the questions: What is our history? What is today’s context? and How will we move forward? It invites an examination of the trajectory of what was, what is, and what will be.
“AEA at 35: Meeting the Moment,” suggests that this is a time for us to look into the mirror and reflect on ourselves as individual professionals and as a field of evaluation. This is our opportunity to recognize the realities of today’s uncertain times, to share what we have learned, to talk about opportunities and missed opportunities and to examine how we are transforming evaluation practice to meet the complex challenges of the moment. Some of those challenges regard diversity and inclusion; social justice; equity; global systems change; multicultural, local, national and international connections and partnerships and globalization, etcetera.
Evaluation is not one story with one evaluation narrator. It’s a collection of stories from different voices and different times and different places and different people who have very different evaluation experiences and something unique to share. For AEA, 2021 is not only a time for us to celebrate our 35th anniversary, but also a time for us to share what we have learned, what we are doing now that shapes our evaluation life, and what we are doing and planning to better our society and our planet.
As you prepare to submit proposals for AEA’s 2021 conference, please consider how our practice of evaluation has been shaped by the past and how we are adapting to meet today’s challenges.
PROPOSALS DUE MAY 10
The mission of BAE is to promote the development and use of quality evaluation and data science to enhance the effectiveness of human action.
