AES conference reflection: day one

Ngunnawal Elder Serena Williams welcomed us warmly and discussed the importance of self-determination in evaluation and research for First Nations People. Shortly after, the amazing Liz Wren took to the stage as the Coordinator of Gilibanga , the Blak evaluators network and the First Nations conference partners (which is a first for AES, I believe). Liz spoke passionately and her words really stuck with me “𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦.”

Our first Keynote speaker was Andi Fugard , who addressed challenging binaries in evaluation. They began by debunking binaries related to quantitative and qualitative approaches, highlighting the grey areas and giving examples of experimental methods that combine lived experience design with qualitative techniques. I was glad to hear the call for integrating more human elements into these types of quantitative methods. They also challenged us on the binary between counterfactual and non-counterfactual approaches, outlining the long-standing use of qualitative counterfactual methods. They pointed out that for a single individual, it’s impossible to determine what the counterfactual would have been; we can only develop an average for a group. I reflected that at Clear Horizon, we have long employed counterfactual reasoning – for example, in the SIPSI approach and collaborative outcomes reporting – using expert panels to explore the counterfactual and including counterfactual questions for key informants in SIPSI.

The second keynote was a panel with Patricia Rogers , Eleanor Williams , and Brad Astbury . They started by discussing the global context of polycrisis and worsening global conditions. Patricia urged evaluators to consider equity and the environment in all evaluations and to look beyond piecemeal assessments of scattered programmes. Brad mentioned the need to research evaluation to identify what works in this context, and Eleanor emphasised the importance of evaluators being more visible, continually building their skills, becoming more embedded and vocal. I found myself agreeing with Patricia and Eleanor that evaluators should immerse themselves in the issues, roll up their sleeves, and contribute more at a systems level.

I then had the pleasure of being part of a session led by Kate McKegg and our own Zoe Enticott , alongside Auli Oravala , A/Director at the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing . The panel shared their key takeaways from a three-year developmental evaluation of Regional Stewardship for Aged Care, which is being rolled out in the context of a widespread reform.

One of my highlight sessions was with Allan Mua Illingworth , Marilyn Vilisoni , and Vani J Nailumu on reclaiming Talanoa – a traditional storytelling approach used in Fiji and Samoa. Many people are misusing this term. So, is Talanoa simply unstructured storytelling? 'Well, yes and no' says Vani. 'Talanoa has a place and a purpose, and it should not be forced. It requires trust' and described how they spend 2-3 days before trust is built. 'There needs to be time, language, and space for silence. We need time to develop relationships. Trust takes time.'

Other members of our team also took the stage, including Bardie (Alicia) Barclay-Sutton , who talked about Building Community Engagement in Papua New Guinea program and the transformative potential of technology-enabled MEL for adaptive management alongside former Clear Horizoner Erin Blake . Ulla Keech-Marx presented an exciting ignite session, encouraging us to rethink the role of indicators in MEL.

The AES AGM was held at the end of the day and I was delighted to see our own Clear Horizon Director, Lee-Anne Molony , elected to the Board. It was also encouraging to see the AES looking so strong. Afterwards, I attended the launch of the Gilibanga network, invited as a trusted ally. It was a real privilege. It truly is a historic moment to witness the first large-scale network of First Nations evaluators. I believe AES has done an incredible job of building relationships with First Nations Peoples over the past decade or so – such effort, so much learning. But ultimately, this network couldn’t have been created within the AES, and it’s a significant milestone to have a network led and owned by First Nations Evaluators.

Over the last decade, AES has done a great job building relationships with First Nations Peoples, but the creation this network could only come from First Nations evaluators themselves – making it a highly significant milestone.