New Collaborative Web Site for AGEs Members

We have created a new web site for AGES. It is a special web site in that it is a collaborative tool that will enhance our networking opportunities. Anyone we invite to the site can post their own page and their own resume to their page on the Members Biographical Information section. A google calendar is included and each member may share various events or mark key dates. Additionally, announcements about workshops, conferences, the certificate program, and other events will be posted. We are also working on linking job postings to this site. Here is the web site: http://sites.google.com/site/arkansasgroupofevaluators/.

Inaugural Session of the Arkansas Evaluation Institute (July 10-11, 2008)

The Inaugural Summer Evaluation Workshop was a success. The workshop began with a Senate Citation. Mayor Carl Redus, Jr., Dr. Calvin Johnson, and Dr. Mary Benjamin welcomed the participants. Dr. Fetterman provided an overview about the Arkansas Evaluation Center, the evaluation workshop, and the forthcoming certificate and masters' programs. Senator Steele highlighted the value of evaluation to inform his own decision making. He also pledged his commitment to the Arkansas Evaluation Center and plans to help support Center efforts. Representative Stephanie Flowers also expressed her support for the Center. Senator Henry "Hank" Wilkins, IV sent his letter of support for the workshop (which was included in the workshop program.) They helped draft the bill that was passed by the House and Senate (and signed by the Governor). Kevin Collins, from the Centers for Disease Control, provided a portrait of CDC best practices - both programmatic and evaluation practices.

Our first set of workshop facilitators, Drs. Stewart Donaldson and Tarek Azzam, from Claremont Graduate University, provided practical program evaluation and technological tools. Foundation officers, Charles Gasper (Missouri Foundation for Health) and Charlotte Lewellen-Willams (Clinton School of Public Service), spoke about the types of evaluation that were appropriate and valuable depending on the purpose for the evaluation effort.

Linda Delaney, chair of the Arkansas Group of Evaluators, facilitated the evening meeting. She introduced our remote speaker Dr. Abraham Wandersman, who spoke about his Getting to Outcomes form of empowerment evaluation. Linda also provided an overview of the second day of the workshop, highlighting Drs. David Fetterman and Rosalie Torres workshops. Dr. Fetterman provided an empowerment evaluation workshop and Dr. Torres provided a workshop about interviewing.

The workshop concluded with a host of free materials to further facilitate evaluation practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs
Introduction to Process Evaluation in Tobacco Use Prevention and Control
Introduction to Program Evaluation for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs
Pathways to Freedom: Winning the Fight Against Tobacco

A Successful Event

The 1st Annual Arkansas Evaluation Summer Institute was a great success. Great feedback was shared by participants during and after the conference. The speakers and facilitators were on point and very much on one accord with their messages. The purpose of the conference was to raise awareness of the purposes served by the Arkansas Group of Evaluators and the Arkansas Evaluation Center. Our intent was to establish an environment of learning, networking, and other collaborative opportunities among participants (including contractual, mentoring, and educational opportunities). We achieved this and the best is yet to come.

Registration is still open for the Evaluation Summer Institute

The AEC and AGES invites evaluators from around the world to attend the Evaluation Summer Institute on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) ON July 10-11, 2008. This conference is expected to bring together many evaluation practitioners, academics, and students, and represents a unique opportunity to gather with professional colleagues in a supportive, invigorating, atmosphere. We have received RSVPs to attend this workshop from as far away as Ethiopia and Liberia – as well as from various states in America. This will be a “skills-enhancing” conference with great networking opportunities. We especially encourage our neighbors from Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee to join us.

Please RSVP at linda2inspire@earthlink.net to reserve your space at this event.

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.

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.

You're invited to share in the wisdom of the AGES...

AGES is an entirely voluntary group, designed to provide you with training and networking opportunities for projects and employment, as well as a place to simply share "war" stories about your projects. It is open to anyone else as well who might be interested in evaluation. The American Evaluation Association (AEA) has officially recognized the AGES as a local affiliate of the AEA.

The inaugural meeting of AGES will be held on July 10th in the early evening at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. We will be sending out additional details about it in the upcoming months. The meeting will be held in tandem with the Summer Institute Evaluation Workshop. The Arkansas Evaluation Center is planning a Summer Institute Evaluation Workshop at UAPB for July 10th and 11th. Mark your calendars. Invited speakers and workshop facilitators will include: Dean Stewart Donaldson and Professor Tarek Azzam from the Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Fetterman from Stanford University will also conduct an evaluation workshop. Other speakers have been invited as well.

Feel free to contact Ms. Delaney or Dr. Fetterman for additional details.

Arkansas Group of Evaluators (AGES)

The Arkansas Group of Evaluators has been meeting and providing training since 2005. The group consists of professional evaluators and individuals interested in learning more about evaluation. The purpose of AGES is to build evaluation capacity throughout the State, by sharing evaluation information and tools. AGES has provided evaluation training workshops in the following areas: empowerment evaluation, experimental design, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, focus groups, and interviews. In addition, educational technology workshops have been provided including topics such as: online surveys, blogs, web pages, videoconferencing on the net, and telephony.

AGES is a vital lifeline for many evaluators in the State. It helps to maintain an evaluation network, providing support and evaluation opportunities to members.

AGES emerged from the tobacco prevention work sponsored by the Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. In the process of collecting tobacco prevention data it became apparent that there was a need to build evaluation capacity throughout the State in many areas. For more information about that project see: http://tobaccoprevention.blogspot.com/
AGES is formally linked to the new Arkansas Evaluation Center and the evaluation certificate program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. AGES provides an educational complement to these programs, providing specific training opportunities and a vehicle to help socialization of new evaluators to the field. For more information about the Center, see: http://arkansasevaluationcenter.blogspot.com. Ms. Linda Delaney is the chair of AGES. She can be reached at: linda2inspire@earthlink.net. Dr. David Fetterman, past-president of the American Evaluation Assocation, serves on the board of the group.