In a recent blog post published during the AEA 2019 Conference, Cameron Norman, initiated a list of things that evaluation is for. Recalling this list was helpful during a recent family gathering when I was asked about work. Rather than focus on the means of evaluation, I found myself talking more about the ends of evaluation which coincided with many of the things on his list shared below. Evaluation is for…

• Decision making
• Seeing the future
• Design and innovation
• Asking better questions
• Creating conversation
• Speaking truth to power
• Honoring our work
• Learning
• Leading system change
• Telling stories about who we are as a people
• Promoting health and preventing harm
• Reinforcing democratic ideals
• Provoking curiosity
• Recognizing humanity

Make sure to check out Cameron’s blog post that elaborates on each of these.

Based on the book Eva the Evaluator by Roger Miranda, Wendy Tackett’s enactment helps Eva understand all the different roles that an evaluator might take on in an evaluation project. This light-hearted video and the book in which it is based on demystify the complex work of evaluation.