Date and time: Tuesday 5 May 2026, 5.00pm - 7.00pm AEST
Topic: What counts as good evidence, and who gets to decide?
Venue: Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare | Level 5, 50 Market Street, Melbourne 3000
Presenters: Matt Healey, Sarah Neill, Simon Faivel
Register online by: 1 May 2026

Event description:

A collaborative AES x LEAF x SIMNA conversation on lived experience, evidence and practice

This AES x LEAF x SIMNA collaborative event brings together voices from evaluation, philanthropy, social impact measurement and practice to explore how to create approaches to evidence and learning that are rigorous, useful and genuinely shaped by the people most affected. Through short provocations from representatives across the three organisations, followed by facilitated speed networking, the evening will invite participants into timely questions about power, participation, methodology, ethics and the practical realities of doing this well.

The event is designed to spark honest conversation, surface diverse views and uncover the methods, resources and practices people are actually using in the field. Participants will leave with new connections, sharper questions and a richer sense of what best practice looks like when lived experience is treated as a vital source of insight, challenge and leadership.

Presenter(s) details:

Matt Healey is Principal Consultant at First Person Consulting. Matt entered the world of evaluation practice in 2014 when he started in an entry level role in a small evaluation consulting firm. In 2015, he co-founded First Person Consulting (FPC) which he has helped grow in size, reputation and practice. Since that time, he has found his niche focusing on work that sits at the intersection of evaluation, systems, and design practices.
Matt has supported the work of the AES in the past through organising the 2018 and 2024 AES Conferences, different online learning opportunities, and co-convening the Design and Evaluation Special Interest Group.

Sarah Neill is Manager of Learning and Impact at the Paul Ramsay Foundation. At PRF, she supports the Foundation to embed learning and evidence into decision-making and adapt its work to contribute to systems change, in pursuit of creating a future where people have what they need to thrive. She works across the Foundation to strengthen evaluation, build capability, and enable strategic learning - partnering with communities, organisations and colleagues to support adaptive approaches in complex contexts.
After beginning her career as an Exercise Physiologist, Sarah developed broad public sector experience across policy areas, including obesity prevention, Aboriginal health, and domestic and family violence. She has led evaluations, delivered public reporting, and collaborates with the research sector to generate and translate evidence into practice.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Health and Exercise Science) from UNSW, a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney, and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from QUT. She recently completed the Social Impact Hub, Social Impact Fellowship and is a member of the LEAF (Learning and Evaluation for Australian Funders) Steering Committee.

Simon Faivel is a Director in the SVA Consulting team and has been with SVA since 2007. Simon focuses on strategy, governance, managing to outcomes and leads SVA’s work on Social Value and Social Return on Investment (SROI). He is a level 3 advanced Social Value and SROI practitioner and an accredited trainer, having trained more than 2,000 people across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Singapore.
Simon is the Founding Chair (now co-Chair) of the Social Impact Measurement Network of Australia (SIMNA), a Senior Advisor to Social Value International (SVI; formerly a trustee and co-Chair) and an Advisory Board Member of Value Australia. Prior to joining SVA, Simon was a strategy consultant at Accenture, a management consulting firm. He has also started, owned and operated two companies. Simon has travelled extensively, working and volunteering in challenging and remote locations in China, Papua, India and Australia. He holds a BSc. and BA (Hons. in Philosophy) from Monash University.

This free event has been organised in conjunction by the AES, LEAF and SIMNA. Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators.