AES Conference 2024: Here’s what we’re excited for!
by Mathilde Wennevold
The AES (Australian Evaluation Society) Conference is an exciting yearly event where evaluators from the whole of the Asia Pacific region come together for a week of workshops, presentations, events, and networking. This year’s conference theme ‘Wayfinding’, is “an ancient process for navigating unfamiliar territory towards an intended destination” (source: AES).
We’re perhaps a little extra excited about the AES conference this year because it’s hosted in our home turf of Naarm/Melbourne. So, we went around to our colleagues and asked them a few questions about what they’re excited about, what tips they have to share to first-time attendees, and what sessions they definitely won’t be missing! Here’s what they said!
A word cloud created from all the answers collected from our Clear Horizon colleagues
Principal consultant Anna Strempel has been to three AES conferences in the past (this is set to be her fourth). Here’s what she is most excited about this year:
“The opportunity to nerd out with others who are interested in exploring how change happens. MEL folk are a uniquely wonderful crowd! I look forward to having in-depth conversations with people I don’t get to see very often.”
Hey Anna, which speaker or session do you most look forward to, and what do you hope to learn from them?
I can’t choose just one, but here are a couple:
1: Navigating Collaborative Practice – the role of evaluation in brokering shared outcomes (Caroline Crothers)
Collaboration is critical to the large-scale, complex challenges we face; I’m looking forward to learning more about the useful and non-standard roles evaluation can play in this space.2: If treaty is like a marriage, state evaluation needs sustained deep work: Evaluation and Victoria’s First Peoples Treaty (Kate Nichols and Milbert Gawaya)
I’ve been following the Victorian Treaty preparations since the early stages and have been very interested in how the process is engaging with power, in particular. I know very little about the relationship between the Treaty process and state evaluation and am keen to hear Kate and Milbert’s analysis.
This will be the third AES conference for principal consultant Shani Rajendra. She’s facilitating a pre-conference workshop for emerging evaluators with Jessica Suares, which you can learn more about here.
She is also looking forward to Kate Nichols and Milbert Gawaya’s session If Treaty Is Like Marriage, State Evaluation Needs Sustained Deep Work: Evaluation and Victoria’s First Peoples Treaty.
“The subject of Treaty is highly significant and relevant in current discourse. I believe it will shape how we should and would approach our Victorian-based work in the Social Impact team.”
What aspect of the conference are you most excited about and why?
“I enjoy the breadth and variety of the conference program. There is always something for everyone at the AES Conferences and I appreciate how the program seems to appeal to my nuanced and varied interests.”
For Principal Consultant Erin Davis, this will be her second AES conference; she attended the AES in sunny Brisbane last year. She is also a member of the AES Victorian Regional Network Committee.
“I especially enjoyed attending a workshop led by Professor Emeritus Donna Mertens about Transformative Evaluation and presentations by First Nations evaluators doing exciting and innovative work on country. I also chaired a workshop led by our wonderful Clear Horizon colleagues, Mutsumi Karasaki and Anna Strempel, which was heaps of fun.”
Hey Erin, what aspect of the conference are you most excited about and why?
“I am excited that the conference will kick off with a keynote address about First Nations gender justice by the legendary June Oscar AO. What a brilliant way to start the event! I look forward to listening and reflecting on how evaluation can advance justice for First Nations women and girls. I’m also excited about the variety of conference sessions available, particularly sessions focused on social justice and equity, lived experience, and methodology.”
Which speaker or session do you most look forward to, and what do you hope to learn from them?
“There are so many – it’s hard to choose! I am looking forward to sessions focused on evaluation with lived experience engagement. For example, Ellie Taylor from The Salvation Army is presenting “Nothing about us, without us”: Developing evaluation framework alongside victim-survivors of modern slavery using representative participatory approaches. I am also looking forward to Kate Nichols and Milbert Gawaya presenting on Evaluation and Victoria’s First Peoples Treaty.”
Emily Graham, Senior Consultant, is most excited about the following:
“Hearing and learning from experienced evaluators across a range of evaluation practice areas, particularly appreciative enquiry and systems change approaches. I’m also excited about connecting with other evaluators, reconnecting with former colleagues who are also attending, and sharing lessons between the domestic and international evaluation spaces.”
This is Senior Consultant Gabrielle Chamberland’s first AES Conference.
I’m hoping to attend a diverse set of sessions and will be keen to chat with other MEL enthusiasts. I’m especially interested in hearing about approaches to systems change and anything related to climate change and the environment, and I am curious to learn about the experiences of others with new technologies, such as AI in MEL, and I’m excited to cheer on current and former colleagues who will be speaking at the conference!
Digital Lead Ethel Karskens has been to two previous AES conferences. Here’s what she loves about it:
I love the diversity of topics around a domain we love – evaluation. I love the variety of format (short, medium, longer, interactive, etc.), I love the opportunities to catch-up and meet people during the tea breaks, lunches, and of course the gala dinner, and learning new stuff and talking directly with the people who presented them.
When asked who she most looks forward to seeing speak, she says:
All of them at this stage – I still need to make a difficult choice 😊
For jessica Suares, this is her first ever AES Conference, and she’s excited!
I’m so excited to meet people in person who I’ve only ever gotten to work with online. Whether people are flying in from interstate and overseas, or they’re a Melbourne-based evaluator who I’ve just never crossed paths with in-person, I’m grateful that the conference is drawing so many people together to the one spot.
“Sign here: Supporting Deaf participation in evaluation” by Susie Fletcher (Australian Healthcare Associates) really caught my eye. I’m someone with a strong interest in how evaluation practice (and all other aspects of life) can be made a more accommodating space for those outside of the mainstream. I’m excited to learn more about this particular approach to accessibility.
If you see me, you have to come say hello. I didn’t make up that rule, that’s just how it is.
Now, time for some advice!
What advice do you have for someone attending the AES conference for the first time (or any conference)?
Shani Rajendra:
Don’t be overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge on offer. Use the conference program as an opportunity to dip your toes into the many wonderful and nuanced pools that evaluation offers and use that inform to forge your own path.
Anna Strempel:
“Pace yourself! Build in some time for reflection between sessions, and if you’re someone who likes to process things out loud (like me), find someone to talk to about what you’ve heard. This can help to consolidate and build on what you’ve learned, so it doesn’t get lost within the pile of insights you’ll amass over the course of the conference!”
Gabrielle Chamberland:
If you make a meaningful connection with someone, make sure to follow through after the event to keep the conversation and connection going – whether it’s an email, a LinkedIn connection, or some other mechanism to stay in touch.
Erin Davis:
People at the AES conference are evaluation nerds just like you and me, so don’t hesitate to strike up a conversation and meet some new folks. Also, look out for the people wearing the pink “Ask Me” ribbons. We are members of the AES Conference Committee and the Victorian Regional Network, so if you are looking for a chat, find one of us and let’s get talking!
Check out the social program too! The conference is great place to learn, but also a place to have fun and network with your colleagues in the evaluation community. Make sure you have space in your schedule for the social side of things.
Ethel Karskens:
Talk to as many people as possible during the breaks, think strategically about which presentations you want to see and when (some of them happen at the same time) and to have fun!
When networking, try to chat with them about their organisation first.
See you at the AES Conference?
We hope you got some helpful inspiration and advice in this article. If you are also heading to the conference this year, we hope you say hello when you see us! Whether it’s at our Clear Horizon booth (where there will be great chats, an AES-exclusive toolkit, and chocolate!), our recovery breakfast, or at one of the many exciting events, presentations, and workshops. To get some further tips on how to make the most of your conference experience, check out our blog full of tips here!
