Date and time: Thursday 27 March, 6.00pm - 8.00pm AEDT
Topic: Evaluation's Unmentionables - Discussing our Sacred Cows
Location: Members Lounge and Library of the Polish White Eagle Club, 38 David Street, Turner, Canberra  
Presenters: Scott Bayley & John Stoney | AES Canberra Regional Network
Register online by: 25 March 2025

Event Description:

Unmentionable = A sensitive or embarrassing situation, and therefore disapproved of as a topic for conversation. A taboo exempt from any process of rational debate.

Sacred cow = Something that cannot be criticised for fear of public outcry. A practice that should be accorded respect and reverence and not examined too closely.

As an example of an unmentionable, many of the approaches used by international development agencies to assess the impacts and effects of their interventions can result in the findings having a positive bias so that the impacts and benefits of the interventions are over-estimated. At the same time, the proportion of the target population who do not benefit may be under-estimated and the potential negative consequences of the interventions may often be ignored. These biases are due to a combination of factors including budget and time constraints, limited access to data – particularly baseline data, how evaluations are commissioned and managed, and political and organisational constraints and pressures. These biases have important consequences when evaluation findings are used to inform future management and policy decisions. While these biases are more obvious for under-resourced evaluations with unrealistically short deadlines, there are also a number of potential positive biases that can also affect well resourced “strong” quantitative evaluation designs (Bamberger, 2009)

In the spirit of Roger Miranda’s  ’The Top List of 10 Things Evaluators Don’t Like to Hear’ this is a relaxed, informal session where John and Scott will gently challenge the status quo by identifying and discussing several sacred cows in the field of evaluation. Attendees will be invited to join in and contribute their own views (and any strategies that might come to mind) while enjoying Polish dumplings.

Arrive from 6 to order dumplings (or other food) at the restaurant, discussion will begin from 6.30.

Note: Registrations are limited to 20 places - please advise early if you cannot attend so your place can be offered to another.

This free event has been organised by the AES Canberra Regional Network. Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators.