Other professional associations

Examples

The Australasian Evaluation Society (AES)

Historically, the AES has had a close connection with different government agencies engaged in strengthening evaluation capacity. Early AES conferences were sponsored by the Australian Government Department of Finance, which played a leading role in supporting better management of evaluation within the Australian public sector; the first AES conference held in New Zealand had high levels of sponsorship from central agencies and line Departments in recognition of the importance they placed on evaluation. At different times, State governments have played a major role in conferences that were held in their capital, promoting their approach to evaluation systems and management and supporting keynote speakers and workshops.

In the past, the AES has co-sponsored events such as seminars with other professional organisations, such as the IPAA – Institute of Public Administration Australia.

The American Evaluation Association (AEA)

In 2016, the AEA collaborated with Social Value International to convene a pre-conference event Impact Convergence which was the Social Value International annual conference held in the same city (Atlanta, Georgia) as the AEA conference.

Advice for using this method

• Individuals should seek out organisations and associations from other fields with related or overlapping interests, and explore what offerings might be available. This could include events, resources, partnerships, or networks.

• Organisations, evaluation associations and societies should consider negotiating access to relevant resources from other professional organisations; reviewing strengths and lessons learned from other professional organisations with overlapping practice to avoid duplication of effort, and identifying areas of common interest or mutual benefit with other professional organisations to pursue together.