Thursday, May 15, 2008

Free Summer Evaluation Workshop July 10th-11th, 2008
Co-sponsors: Arkansas Group of Evaluators and the Arkansas Evaluation Center

The Arkansas Group of Evaluators (a local affiliate of the American Evaluation Association) is co-sponsoring a Summer Evaluation Workshop with the Arkansas Evaluation Center (http://arkansasevaluationcenter.blogspot.com/). It will be held at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on July 10th and July 11th 2008. The workshop is primarily designed to help build minority evaluator capacity, but is open to everyone. The workshop is not restricted to evaluators from Arkansas. It is open to anyone interested in learning about evaluation throughout the United States and abroad.

Featured Speakers and Workshop Facilitators

Plenary Luncheon Speakers:
Senator Tracey Steele, State of Arkansas
Mr. Kevin Collins, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Naccaman Williams, Walton Foundation
Mr. Charles Gasper, Missouri Foundation for Health

Workshop Facilitators:
Dr. Stewart Donaldson, Dean of the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University
Dr. Tarek Azzam, Senior Research Associate, School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University
Dr. Rosalie Torres, Torres Consulting Group
Dr. David Fetterman, School of Medicine, Stanford University and School of Education, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Workshop Topics:
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Best Practices (Evaluation)
  • Foundation Perspectives about the Significance of Program Evaluation
  • Getting-to-Outcomes
  • Interviewing Skills for Evaluators
  • Introduction to Empowerment Evaluation
  • Introduction to Practical Program Evaluation
  • Introduction to Technology and Evaluation (Geographic Information Systems and Online Surveys)
  • Politics and Taxpayer Accountability

The Arkansas Group of Evaluations (AGES) will also hold a networking social on July 10th from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Dr. Abraham Wandersman's "Getting to Outcomes" empowerment evaluation work will be highlighted during the social networking function.

For additional information about the conference and social, contact the Chair of AGES, Ms. Linda Delaney: linda2inspire@earthlink.net.

For a copy of the conference schedule see: http://arkansasevaluationcenter.blogspot.com/.

There will be no registration fee for the summer evaluation workshop or social networking event this year. However, an RSVP is required and participants are expected to pay for their own transportation, lodging, and food.

The following Pine Bluff web sites provide information about local restaurants and accommodations:
Chamber of Commerce - http://www.pinebluffchamber.com/vi/index.html
Helpful Telephone Numbers, restaurants, and shopping - Convention and Visitors Bureau - http://www.pinebluffonline.com/
Mrs. Connie Robinson (robinsoncr@uapb.edu) can also assist with recommendations for accommodations and restaurants in the area.

RSVP to attend the workshop by emailing Ms. Linda Delaney at: linda2inspire@earthlink.net.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Current Events

The Arkansas Group of Evaluations, a local affiliate of the American Evaluation Association, will also hold a networking social during the conference at 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm on July 10th at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. It will be an opportunity to meet other evaluators, socialize, network, and pick up new evaluation skills (and plenty of stories as well). There is no fee for the networking social - but you should bring your business cards. For more information about the group's meeting contact Ms. Linda Delaney, the Chair of AGES at LINDA2INSPIRE@EARTHLINK.NET.