AES Alert: 8 October 2025 |
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Dear Visitor It has been an eventful and inspiring September for the AES community. The aes25 International Evaluation Conference in Canberra brought members and friends together to connect, learn and celebrate excellence in evaluation. The 2025 Awards for Excellence in Evaluation were presented at the Gala Awards Dinner, recognising outstanding contributions across the profession. AES proudly welcomed two new Fellows - David Roberts and John Stoney, in recognition of their significant service and leadership in evaluation. Thank you to our photographer and friend Albie Colvin for capturing the energy and excitement of the conference through their photos and sharing them online via our LinkedIn and Facebook. Stay connected! Make sure you continue receiving the latest news and opportunities, take a moment to check that your member details are up to date. Login and update your details. |
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Celebrating the 2025 AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation Indigenous Evaluation Award presented to: Myuma Pty Ltd. Evaluation Systems Award presented to: Evaluation and Insights Team of the National Emergency Management Agency. Emerging New Talent Award presented to Caitlin Morton. Evaluation Journal of Australasia Publication Award presented to Sandra Nyashaddai Ayoo, Meghan Leeming, Stacy Huff in recognition of Meta-evaluation: Validating program evaluation standards through the United Nations Evaluation Quality Assessment (EQAs). Public Sector Evaluation Award presented to ARTD Consultants, Taylor Fry & NSW Ministry of Health in recognition of Towards Zero Suicides Initiatives. Learn more about the award winners HERE |
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2025 AES Board announced At the recent Annual General Meeting held in Canberra, the results of the Board ballot were announced. We are pleased to share the following updates. Elected for two-year terms were: • Andrew Hawkins • Lee-Anne Molony • Kim Grey Following the AGM, the board met to determine next steps for leadership. At this meeting Lee-Anne Molony was appointed Treasurer and Matthew Healey was appointed as Interim President. The full board will meet again in November to appoint an ongoing President. Meet your board here. Sadly we bid farewell to Kiri Parata as President, Anne Stephens as Vice President and Tony Kiessler as Treasurer. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Kiri, Anne and Tony for their valuable contributions, leadership and commitment during their time on the board. Don’t miss Anne Stephens’ heartfelt thank you to Kiri - it’s a beautiful reflection of gratitude and leadership. | | AES Board post AGM at aes25
Left - Right front row: Lee-Anne Molony, Nicole Tujague, Jill Thomas, Kim Grey
Left - Right back row:Andrew Hawkins, Matthew Healey, Jade Maloney |
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October 2025
IN PERSON WA WORKSHOP: Offered in partnership with Institute for Public Administration Australia WA (IPAA WA)
November 2025 December 2025 | |
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The Of Interest section of the AES Alert includes information from international evaluation societies as well as upcoming events and other articles that may be of interest to our members and wider evaluation community. There is no charge to be included. Please send content to aes@aes.asn.au by Tuesday lunchtime. Your article should include a short blurb and any relevant links. Note that we don't include images or upload documents. Note that the AES reserves the right to refuse publication if we don't judge that your copy is of interest to members of the AES. Member notices are given preference. |
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New Resource: The It Depends Podcast with Matt and Tenille
Looking for a podcast that tackles questions without straightforward answers? Welcome to The It Depends Podcast, hosted by Matt Healey and Tenille Moselen from First Person Consulting. In each episode, Matt, Tenille, and their guests explore the tricky, nuanced world of evaluation, systems change, design, and complexity. It's your go-to source for thoughtful conversations, practical insights, and comfort in embracing uncertainty.
Find and follow the It Depends Podcast with Matt and Tenille on the Podcast host website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts to get the latest episodes, and discover why the best answer to tricky questions often starts with "it depends…". |
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Play with Purpose: Building Evaluation and Systems Thinking Capacity Workshop Looking to strengthen your evaluation and systems thinking skills while having serious fun? Join us for Play with Purpose, a full-day interactive workshop on 14 November in Melbourne. Facilitators Matt Healey (First Person Consulting) and Dr Sam Abbato (Visual Insights People) will guide you through techniques to build capacity through play. You will use card games, board games, and playful activities that bring evaluation and systems thinking to life. You’ll walk away with hands-on experience, practical strategies, and a take-home toolkit of resources valued at $125 to keep building capacity long after the workshop ends. Whether you’re building skills for yourself, your team, or the people you train, this workshop combines behavioural science, stories, and play to make learning engaging, memorable, and impactful. Places are limited — secure your spot now and don’t forget: AES members receive 15% off with code AES15. Find out more and register here |
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Grosvenor M&E teas – dates available for October and November The fourth in Grosvenor’s well-attended M&E and tea series is now live for registrations, with events running in Melbourne and Sydney on 21 October, Brisbane 11 November, Adelaide 17 November, and Canberra and online 25 November. These events are FREE for attendees from the public sector or not-for-profit/for purpose entities, but they’re so good even other evaluation consultancies have come along! Register here for your upcoming M&E tea: https://www.grosvenor.com.au/monitoring-evaluation-afternoon-tea/ This series will cover the topics of ‘so you think you can rubric?’ and demystifying economic evaluations, interspersed with yummy food and good conversation with passionate evaluators from all walks of life, to give attendees practical guidance on designing and implementing fit-for-purpose rubrics as well as empowering attendees to develop an economic model map for their program. Can’t wait to see you there! |
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Iris Ethics HREC opens for applications
Following successful registration with the NHMRC, Iris Ethics has opened its Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) for submissions, making it the first privately operated, open access HREC to focus solely on the evaluation, market research, and social research sectors. The committee is chaired by Professor Chris Maylea, an experienced social researcher and legal scholar, and includes people from all over Australia representing a range of lived and professional experiences and includes practicing evaluators. This ensures that reviews are completed quickly with an understanding of the research purpose and methodologies used, and that the committee can act as a trusted advisor and partner. Iris Ethics also delivers rapid reviews for lower risk evaluation projects and produces a growing library of resources to support ethical evaluation practice.
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Clear Horizon Academy – Courses Now Available Enrolments are now open for a range Clear Horizon courses, with AES members eligible to receive a 15% discount (just use the code “AES15” at enrolment to claim your discount). Applied Theory of Change | starts 17 October – This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and the skills necessary to use Theory of Change (ToC) as an anchor tool across a wide variety of uses in design and evaluation. You will first develop a deeper understanding of the key concepts that underpin Theory of Change. Then you will explore how theory of change can be used at different levels from program, organisation and collaboration, and at different stages of the strategic cycle, from idea stages right through to implementation. We look at advanced applications for using theory of change in co-design; long-term strategy formulation, and for place-based approaches. By the end, you will leverage your basic theory of change skills, to apply this powerful tool in complex initiatives and changing environments and as a living tool for adaptive management and strategic decision-making. Evaluating Place-based Approaches | starts 24 October – This course has been designed to equip you with the unique skills required to effectively measure and evaluate place-based initiatives for maximum impact. Starting with an overview of systems change – the umbrella discipline of place-based approaches – you will learn about the key principles and unique challenges of evaluating place-based approaches before delving into strategies to develop an evaluation framework specific to place-based initiatives. You will apply the learnings through practical exercises and see this approach in action with real-life case studies. This course has been developed by the creators of Australia’s game-changing place-based evaluation framework. |
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AES Blog
| We want to hear from you! What is interesting you in the world of evaluation? Have you attended an AES event recently and are keen to share what you learned? Please refer to the Guidelines for what and how to submit to the AES blog and if you have any questions, please email the team at blog@aes.asn.au. Check out the the latest AES blogs by clicking here.
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Job Vacancies | Employers looking to fill positions in program monitoring and evaluation and performance measurement can list their job vacancies on the AES website. This service is available to members and non-members for a small fee. Discover the benefits of advertising on the AES website as recruiters and for applicants. Local and overseas opportunities are listed throughout the year and are also included in the AES Alert e-newsletter. |
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Consultants Directory | The AES often receives enquiries looking for evaluators with specific areas of expertise. These enquiries are directed to the online searchable Consultants' Directory. As well as being 'discovered' by potential customers, consultants in the directory also enjoy receiving early advice on any call for Evaluation services tenders. AES members can be listed in the Consultants' Directory for a small fee. Log into the AES website and access the form here. |
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Logging On to Member Only areas of the new AES website | Members can now remain logged into the AES website rather than log in each time - simply click on the 'Remember me' box when loggin in. If you have forgotten your username and password, please email us at aes@aes.asn.au. |
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Become an AES member | Do you work as an evaluator, commission evaluation work, manage evaluation projects, are an academic teaching and conducting research, a tertiary level student or even a professional interested in evaluation and performance measurement? Are you interested in developing your knowledge and skills across evaluation theory, methods and practice while networking with other professionals involved in similar work? Then you will benefit from joining the AES. Click here for more information and to apply to join. |
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| We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands in which we conduct our business. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present. The Australian Evaluation Society is committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society. |
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