You can download the 2019 program here: EViE 2019 Program

EViE 2019 Theme

The practice of evaluation has grown to occupy an influential space in the current social
and political landscape (Dahler-Larsen, 2012). This elevated status has stimulated discussion about the role of evaluation in society, as debates previously confined to the field’s internal dialogue are increasingly reflected in public discourse. Social and political shifts toward “data-driven decision-making” and “evidence-based practice” have obvious implications for the field, but clarity and certainty regarding the role of evaluators and evaluation are not an inevitable product of an expanding “evaluation society” (Dahler-Larsen, 2012). The field’s place in society is a matter of whether and how evaluation serves the public good, how ethics influence and shape evaluation practice, where the responsibilities of evaluators begin and end, and to what extent the field should identify as a unique profession.

In developing a theme for EViE 2019, we considered the role of evaluation in society to
be both an urgent topic for conversation in our current sociopolitical climate and a lasting and universally relevant issue in the field. The 2019 theme includes four key areas of focus: Public Good, Ethics, Responsibility, and Professionalization. 

 

2019 Keynote Speaker

Thomas A. Schwandt is Professor Emeritus, Educational Psychology, University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. He currently works as an evaluation advisor. He has
written extensively about evaluation theory and practice. In addition to more than 100
journal articles and book chapters, his published books include Evaluation Foundations
Revisited: Cultivating a Life of the Mind for Practice (Stanford University Press, 2015);
Evaluation Practice Reconsidered (Peter Lang, 2002); Evaluating Holistic Rehabilitation
Practice (Kommuneforlaget AS, 2004); Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry (4 th ed. Sage, 2015); with Edward Halpern, Linking Auditing and Meta-evaluation (Sage, 1988); and, with Ken Prewitt and Miron Straf, Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy (National
Academies Press, 2012). He has co-edited Exploring Evaluator Role and Identity (with K. Ryan, Information Age Press, 2002) and Evaluating Educational Reforms:
Scandinavian Perspectives (with P. Haug, Information Age Press, 2003). In 2002 he received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award from the American Evaluation Association for his contributions to evaluation theory. He is editor emeritus of the American Journal of Evaluation; member of the editorial board of Evaluation: The International Journal of Theory, Research & Practice; member of the Evaluation Advisory Panel for the Independent Evaluation Office of the United Nations Development Program and a former member of the EVALSDGs network of researchers, evaluators, and policymakers committed to developing the role of evaluation in the achievement of the SDGs. Much of his work is informed by the tradition of philosophical hermeneutics and its concern with practical reasoning. In recent years his research has been focused on evidence-based reasoning and data-driven decision making. He is currently working on a book on valuing, evaluation and evidence in evaluation and applied social research.

The 2019 Conference Program is available here:  EViE 2019 Schedule at a Glance