Evaluation in a Turbulent World: Challenges, opportunities and innovation in evaluation practice

Macdonald Burlington Hotel, Birmingham, UK

A copy of the call for abstracts is available on-line and submission forms available via the conference website www.profbriefings.co.uk/ukes2010.

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 13 August 2010.

With the effects of the financial crisis still being felt many evaluators find themselves operating in a very different policy environment.  In particular the rhetoric has changed from tackling the crisis (a central theme of last year?s conference looking at impact) to talk of austerity and cutting back the public sector, a major source of sponsorship for evaluation.  While this environment offers tough challenges, it also presents opportunities ? in particular in the development and promotion of new evaluation methodologies, relationships and approaches.  More than ever there will be a need to assess what is of value, what has quality and in what circumstances evaluation can contribute to informed policy-making and debate.

The themes of this year?s conference therefore revolve around the added value which evaluation brings to the policy process and how these benefits can be maximised; the ongoing development and future of how evaluation is conducted; and the circumstances in which evaluation can effectively and efficiently demonstrate value for money.  The call for presentations and workshops reflect these themes under the following headings:

• Innovative and collaborative evaluation methods;
• Methodological challenges due to reduced budgets; 
• Better utilisation of currently existing data sets and sources; and 
• The role of the ?professional? evaluator.
  

The UKES conference offers an opportunity for participants from across government, academia, the voluntary and private sectors to highlight current work, emerging best practice and innovation in all spheres of evaluation.

The keynote speakers are:

• Michael Blastland  Journalist and co-author of The Numbers Game
• Professor Mark Hart  Professor of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Aston Business School
• Dr Jenny Hughes  Evaluator of education aid programmes and author of Project Managers' Guide to Evaluation
• Professor Stephen Roper  Director of the Centre for SMEs and Professor of Enterprise, Warwick Business School
• Professor Saville Kushner  Professor of Public Evaluation, University of the West of England

Further details are available from the conference administrators:
 
Professional Briefings
Email: london@profbriefings.co.uk
Telephone: 01920 487672