AES peer group mentoring program

The AES Group Mentoring Program has been shown to have a wide range of benefits for mentees and mentors.

Mentees have told us that the program builds their confidence and peer-support network in evaluation, and expands their thinking, opening them to new ways of practice and new ways of solving problems. The program particularly benefits evaluators who are sometimes professionally isolated, including those who might be the only evaluator at their workplace, are members of small evaluation teams, or are self-employed.

Mentors have told us that the program is a great way to give back to the field and support new emerging and mid-career evaluators. Mentors have also told us that they enjoy learning from their mentees, too, and that it is a great way to enhance facilitation skills and engaging in stimulating discussion. Many mentors find this supports their own professional development, as they develop their mentoring and facilitation skills.

Some groups have a specific focus area or topic, but this is not a technical training program. Rather, the topics help to drive the mentoring discussions, and provide focus to what ideas will be explored by the group.

Mentors and associate mentors must be AES members and experienced evaluators, with a desire to support the progression of emerging and mid-career evaluators by sharing their knowledge, skills and experience through mentoring.

Responsibilities of the mentor include:

• Selecting a group of suitable mentees who are and likely to be able to work together
• Commit to mentees through sharing experience and providing practical advice
• Facilitate structured or semi-structured mentoring sessions, usually monthly via Zoom, about an agreed topic in evaluation
• In consultation with the group, set an agreed meeting schedule, usually once per month, and convene meetings
• Be inclusive, considering the experiences and needs of people of all levels of expertise and experience in evaluation as well as other professional skills and abilities, cultural protocols and preferred ways of working, genders, and sexualities
• Provide advice and guidance as required
• Reflect on progress

The associate mentor’s role is to support the mentor to lead the mentoring group, assisting the mentor to plan and run the program and learning from the mentor through this process. The associate mentor will keep in touch with the mentor and mentees between meetings and act as back up to the mentor.

Mentors and associate mentors are provided with a mentoring toolkit and are invited to participate in a mentor Community of Practice to share ideas and what is working well with their groups. Mentors and Associate Mentors are all volunteers.

Mentees must be AES members with a desire to progress their professional evaluation journey by connecting with other evaluators, including both peers and more senior evaluators.

Mentees may come from any part of the field of evaluation and bring diverse experiences to their groups.

Mentees who benefit most from the program:

• Are enthusiastic and willing to actively participate and share ideas with their peers.
• Have sufficient time to dedicate to the program, including support from their employer where needed.
• Come from any time zones and locations, including regional locations.
• Are flexible to accommodate the needs of others, including their different time zones and caring responsibilities.
• Actively participate in online meeting discussions and group dialogue between meetings.
• Currently work in evaluation and plan to continue to practice evaluation.
• Want to build a peer support network

We particularly encourage EOIs from First Nations evaluators, evaluators located in regional and remote areas, and evaluators with diverse backgrounds.

We have identified some characteristics of participants who do not benefit as much from this program. The following people look for other types of professional development opportunities:

• People seeking intensive 1:1 mentoring – this is a group program.
• People seeking evaluation training or technical skill development – this is a mentoring program (you may like to explore the AES training programs available).
• People who are unable to commit to attending regular meetings (we suggest seeking support from your employer if relevant).
• People who are unwilling to participate and share actively in an online group environment.
• People who think they might leave the field of evaluation during the program.

All participants are expected to:

• Read program guidelines and policies.
• Attend any preparation sessions.
• Sign and submit a mentoring agreement.
• Agree on a mentoring schedule, session expectations, individual and group professional goals.
• Attend all mentoring meetings, prepare appropriately, and attempt any follow up actions.
• Actively participate in meetings and support fellow mentors and mentees.
• Be professional, respectful and observe confidentiality.
• If you have any questions or concerns arise, contact the program support officer
• Participate in any evaluations and provide feedback

Potential mentors and associate mentors are asked to complete a nomination form. Expression of interest are open between 20 September and 1 October 2024. Enquiries about mentoring can be made by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Potential mentees nominate through the mentee online form (available from 22 October 2024). Mentees will be asked to indicate which mentoring group they are particularly interested in and why.

Mentors and associate mentors

The AES Pathways Committee Working Group reviews the mentor nominations and selects mentors based on their professional qualifications and experience, evaluation specialisation and focus, and motivations for becoming involved in the program. Applicants who are not selected may be approached to participate as an associate mentor, if appropriate.

Recruitment of associate mentors will involve the same process as for mentors. Matching mentors and associate mentors will be based on:

• the associate mentors’ area of specific interest
• areas of experience, and
• any expressed preferences

The pairing of mentors and associate mentors will be done by the Working Group. mentors and associate mentors will be consulted to confirm they are happy with the suggested matching.

Mentees

The AES Group Mentoring Program Committee reviews the mentee nominations and selects mentees based on:

• mentee’s motivations for joining the program and alignment with their preferred mentor’s focus
• the diversity and alignment of personal and professional backgrounds within each group (to support peer learning)  

Applicants who are not selected will be notified of the outcome and can reapply for future rounds.

What are the key dates?

Mentor expressions of interest
open between 20 September – 1 October 2024

Mentors selected and notified
by 7 October 2024

Mentee expressions of interest open to mentees 
22 October 2024 – 10 November 2024

Mentees selected and notified
9 December 2024

Mentor community of practice
begins 4 February 2025, 12 pm AEST

Orientation session for mentees and mentors
11 February 2025, 12 pm AEST

Group Mentoring commences
February 2025

Large group closing session
2 December 2025, 12pm AEST

Mentoring program ends
December 2025

The 2021 pilot and the 2022 program were both evaluated. Learnings from those evaluations have been incorporated into the 2025 program design. You can view the reports here:

• 2021 evaluation report
• 2022 evaluation report

All participants will be expected to contribute to monitoring and evaluation activities, such as surveys, and to provide feedback. Participants may be requested to contribute to an evaluation of the program in years to come.

The Working Group encourages any suggestions and feedback on the program at any stage from all participants.