Awarded annually, the AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation are an important indicator of the Society’s quality standards.

The AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation are significant peer recognition for leading evaluators, leading evaluations and evaluation best practice in Australasia (Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Region).

The award winners represent the best-in-class for each Award category. Winning an AES Award offers significant peer recognition and, in the past has proven an important contributor to professional and commercial success and to academic career progression.

Closing Date for 2010 AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation: 30 June 2010

Download 2010 Brochure and Nomination Form (PDF)
Download 2010 Nomination Form (PDF)
Download 2010 Nomination Form (Word Document)
Download Tips & Advice including FAQ's

Download Policy and Procedures Document

Details of the recipients appear in the Evaluation Journal of Australia and are available on the AES web site (see below).

The 2009 Awards for Excellence in Evaluation were presented at the AES International Conference held in Canberra in September. All award recipients were invited to attend to receive their awards.

Objectives of the AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation

To recognise and encourage evaluations, evaluators and evaluation practice that

  1. adhere to the following principles:
    (the common principles)
    • excellence,
    • professionalism
    • ethical conduct.

  2. are demonstrable exemplars of work that is:
    (the evaluation criteria)
    • quality
    • leading edge
    • a contribution to knowledge
    • effective
    • equitable, and
    • sustainable

NOTE:  the common principles apply equally to all nominations. All nominations must address the principles outlined in (a) above, and the particular criteria of those listed in (b) above that apply to each award.

Seven AES awards for excellence in evaluation

There are seven AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation which may be awarded each year. They are divided into two main categories:

(a) Two awards that recognise individual evaluators (nominated by their peers)

(b) Five awards that recognise organisations, project teams, evaluation projects or programs (nominated by the evaluators themselves)

Eligibility

Nominees, or in the case of a group nomination, at least one nominee, must be a member of the AES for a minimum period of twelve months.  Nominees for the Emerging New Talent Award are exempt from this requirement.

Awards Assessment Criteria

The six assessment criteria defining excellence in evaluation in the awards are

  • quality – of the evaluation or in the application of evaluation theory, principles, methods and practice – this involves appropriateness, fitness for purpose and technical quality;

  • leading edge – clearly an example of innovation and good practice in this class of evaluation (the specific award category);

  • contribution to knowledge – to improving/refining one or more of evaluation theory, scholarship, principles, methods and/ or evaluation practice;

  • effectiveness – in achieving client/project objectives, in its response to context, in partnering and/or cross training with the client/s or in making a difference/delivering better client outcomes through the application of evaluation theory, principles, methods and practice;

  • equitable – inclusiveness through the advancement of the prospects, demonstrating fairness, social justice, equity and involvement of key stakeholders, including the effective engagement of special interest groups (culturally and linguistically diverse, Indigenous, youth, etc.); and

  • sustainable – providing continuity and sustainability of evaluation and/or the integration of evaluation as an ongoing component of client, agency or sectoral policy, programs, projects or services.

Emerging New Talent Award
(Nominations must not exceed 5 pages)

This award recognises emerging new evaluators who demonstrate the potential to contribute significantly to the field of evaluation, or who have made a significant contribution to the field of evaluation in a short period of time of working in the evaluation area.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge
effectiveness

Previous Winners
2007 - Bradley Shrimpton
2009 - Jessica Kenway

Outstanding Contribution to Evaluation (ET&S) Award
(Nominations must not exceed 10 pages. Relevant attachments may be included.)

This award recognises an AES member for his/her outstanding contribution to evaluation.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge
equitable
sustainable

Previous winners

Stephen Kemmis
Bryan Lenne
Jane Hall
Jerome Winston
Colin Sharp
Darrel Caulley
Dr John Owen
Rosemary Ince
Yoland Wadsworth
Ian Trotman
Assoc Prof Ralph Straton
Sue Funnell
Anthea Rutter and Dr Zita Unger
Dr Patricia Rogers
Maggie Jacob-Hoff
Assoc Prof Rosalind Hurworth
Penny Hawkins
Professor Rick Cummings

Best Evaluation Publication (Caulley Tulloch) Award
(Nominations must not exceed 5 pages)

This award recognises the best journal article, conference paper, research paper, undergraduate or postgraduate thesis or other peer reviewed publication in evaluation.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge

Previous winners

1995 - Yoland Wadsworth, Merinda Epstein & Maggie McGuiness
1996 - Patricia Rogers & Gary Hough
2001 - Scott Bayley
2003 - Bron McDonald, Patricia Rogers and Bruce Kefford
2005 - Glenys Jones and her team, Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania
2009 - Coffey International Development, Jennifer Rush and AusAID

Best Evaluation Study Award
(Nominations must not exceed 7 pages. Relevant attachments must include an Executive Summary.)

This award recognises an individual or team that has conducted a specific evaluation study which has made or has the potential to make, a significant contribution to the practice or use of evaluation in Australasia.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge
effectiveness
equitable
sustainable

Previous winners

1994 - Evaluating Taxpayer Audit Program of the New Zealand Department of Inland Revenue (Team lead by Alan Pinder)

1996 - Technical Quality Evaluation Team, N Z Department of Inland Revenue (Team included Prue Oxley, Heather Turner, Valmai Copeland, Fiona Hoult, Colin Usherwood and Robyn Pullar)

1997 - Team from Australian Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (Team included Joe Motha, Bogey Musldlak, Seu Cheng, Catarina Williams)

1998 – two awards - Team from NZ Ministry of Justice (Team included Alison Chetwin, Steve Dunstan, Miriama Scott, Jennifer Leigh, Mark McCallum) and
Peter Bycroft and Ellen Vasilauskas, Corporate Diagnostics Pty Ltd

1999 - Pamela Williams, KPMG

2000 - Robert Curnow, Community Changes

2001 - Dr Rick Cummings, Murdoch University and Kath Stephenson, Estill and Associates

2002 - ARTD Consultants (Chris Milne, Marie Delaney, Klas Johansson and Marita Merlene)

2003 - Review and Evaluation Unit of the Queensland Police Service (Team included Dr Robert Lake, Angela Richardson, Dr Diana Beere, Ruth Beach and Joe Nucifora)

2005 - Wendy Searle, Tania Slater, Trish Knaggs, Janet November and Christopher Clark, Ministry of Justice, New Zealand

2006 - Virginia Lum Mow, VL Educational Research and Development; and Retraining Unit, NSW Department of Education and Training

2007 - The Consortium for the Strategy 2000-2004 Evaluation at CIRCLE, RMIT (Team included Associate Professor Patricia Rogers, Ms Sue Funnell, Mr John Scougall, Ms Keryn Hassall, Mr Peter Tyler, Associate Professor Gerald Elsworth, Ms Sue Kimberley, and Ms Kaye Stevens)

2008 - Simon Smith, Julie McGeary, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries & Dr. Martin Andrew, Lili Pechey, Dr. Don Burnside, Dr. Todd Richie from URS Australia

2009 - Rosemarie Tweedie, Mary Carey, Kim Stewart and the Baptist Community Services (NSW and ACT)

Best Evaluation Policy and Systems Award
 (Nominations must not exceed 10 pages. Relevant attachments must include a two page summary of the policy/system/ framework/methodology.)

This award recognises the work of an individual or team in developing the best evaluation policy, integrated evaluation system, evaluation program, framework and/or implementation of evaluation policies, systems, programs or frameworks.

It is expected that the award will recognise work undertaken in partnership with clients or users who have championed the evaluation and can attest to increased value for their business or endeavour arising from the evaluation process or specific evaluation findings.

The scope of the evaluation includes policies, programs, products, services, personnel, management strategies and other initiatives.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge
effectiveness
equitable
sustainable

Previous winners

1994 - Evaluation Management Team, NSW Public Works in conjunction with staff from Canberra University

1995 - Terrence Measham, Director, Powerhouse Museum & Carol Scott, Co-ordinator of the Powerhouse Museum's Evaluation & Visitors Research Unit

1996 - DASFLEET, Australian Department of Administrative Services and Corporate Diagnostics Pty Ltd

1998 - Team from Olympics Roads and Transport Authority for the Royal Easter Show Transport Evaluation

1999 - Australian Taxation Office/Corporate Diagnostics Pty Ltd
and

1999 - Evaluation and Auditing Services Ltd (formerly the Evaluation Department. Queen Mary Hospital, Wellington)

2000 - Jennifer Leigh, Ministry of Social Policy, Wellington

2001 - Dr Zita Unger, Evaluation Solutions

2003 - Julie Rolfe, Victorian Premier’s Drug Prevention Council and John Pilla, BearingPoint Australia

2004 - Anna L Johnson and the Strategic Review Evaluation and Research Branch, Queensland Department of Communities

2005 - Bruce Davidson, Noosa council and Ellen Vasiliauskas, d-sipher

2006 - Dr Jessica Dart & Dr Rick Davies

2007 - Ms Karen Goltz, Health Promotion/Public Health, Department of Human Services; Prof Yoland Wadsworth, Dr Ani Wierenga and Ms Gai Wilson c/ Youth Research Centre, Melbourne University; and The Victorian Department of Human Services, North and West Metropolitan Region.

2008 -  Western Sydney Region, NSW Department of Education and Training

2009 - The Centre for Health Policy, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne and the Department of Health and Ageing

Community Development Evaluation Award
(Nominations must not exceed 5 pages.)

This award encourages evaluations that contribute to and have made a demonstrable impact on community development. It recognises the needs of specific interest groups and/or those often not included or not effectively engaged in evaluation studies (e.g. culturally and linguisically diverse, Indigenous, youth). It also covers evaluations of overseas aid and/or development initiatives.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge
effectiveness
equitable
 sustainable

Previous winner

2005 – Brad Shrimpton, Centre for Program Evaluation and Mandy McKenzie, Domestic Violence Resource Centre, Melbourne

Indigenous Evaluation Award
(Nominations must not exceed 5 pages)

This award recognises policy, project or program evaluations that demonstrate sensitivity, professionalism, excellence and achievement in involving Indigenous communities, addressing Indigenous issues or with a significant benefit to Indigenous policy development.

The award may also acknowledge the development of evaluation modelling, methods or techniques with a focus on the needs and perspectives of Indigenous communities or the Indigenous sector.

quality
leading edge
contribution to knowledge
effectiveness
equitable
sustainable

Previous Winners
2007 - Indigenous Project Team, Ombudsman Victoria

2008 - Department of Finance and Deregulation, Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs) with Anne Markiewicz, Director, Anne Markiewicz and Associates Pty Ltd

Awards Committee

David Roberts (Chair)
Brian English
Yoland Wadsworth
April Bennett
Ellen Vasiliauskas