Workshop: Principles in Action: A Practical Guide for Evaluators

Date and time: Wednesday 24 February 2027, 10.00am - 1.00pm AEDT (registration from 9.45am). Half day workshop - 1 session

Venue: Via Zoom. Details will be emailed to registrants just prior to the workshop start time

Facilitators: Judy Gold and Emma Thomas

Register online by: 23 February 2027, unless sold out prior. Spaces limited to 25 participants

Fees (GST inclusive):  Members $268.00, AES Organisational member staff $395.00, Non-members $440.00, Student member $149.00, Student non-member $205.00* (GST inclusive) * Students must send proof of their full-time student status to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Workshop Overview

How do you evaluate a program when its activities are evolving, outcomes are uncertain, or traditional evaluation frameworks don't quite fit?
Principles-focused evaluation offers a practical approach to navigating complexity, supporting decision-making and assessing progress when programs don't follow a predictable path.
In this interactive half-day workshop, you'll learn how to develop clear, actionable principles and use them to guide evaluation design, implementation and learning.
Drawing on real-world examples, you'll practice developing and refining principles, explore when this approach is most useful, and consider how to assess whether principles are being put into practice.
You'll leave with practical tools and techniques you can apply to your own evaluation work, whether you focus on complex, long-term system change initiatives, or smaller scale projects. 

Workshop Content

Drawing on the work of Michael Quinn Patton and other contributors, as well as practice examples, we will explore how principles are applied within different evaluation processes. This includes theory of change development, reflection and learning during program implementation, and end of project/program evaluations, even for projects that are relatively small scale. We will explore the benefits and limitations of principles-focused approaches.

The workshop will also create space for reflective practice. We will consider how principles can guide your own evaluation decisions, judgments, and ways of working, and you will have the opportunity to articulate and examine the principles that already shape your practice.

The workshop will include information sharing, case studies on the use of principles at different stages of the evaluation process, practical exercises to develop and refine action-orientated principles, small group discussions and peer feedback, and individual reflection practice to explore your own practices.

Workshop Objectives

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

• Develop clear, actionable principles that can guide program design, implementation and evaluation.

• Apply principles-focused approaches to real-world evaluation challenges, particularly where programs are complex or evolving.

• Assess how principles are being implemented, and use them to inform evaluative judgements.

PL competencies

This workshop aligns with competencies in the AES Evaluator’s Professional Learning Competency Framework. The identified domains are:

• Domain 1: Evaluative attitude and professional practice

• Domain 2: Evaluation theory

• Domain 3: Attention to stakeholders, culture and context

Who should attend?

This workshop would benefit those who are responsible for designing or commissioning evaluations and those involved in designing programs (small or large) e.g. program managers, internal evaluation and learning teams, and external consultants.

This workshop has been designed to suit those with no prior knowledge or experience using principles in their evaluation work, as well as those with some familiarity and experience.

Notes for online delivery

This workshop will be participatory, and include a mix of activities to make the session fun and engaging. If possible, we ask you keep your camera on whenever possible to support this.

If you have inclusion requirements, please reach out ahead of the workshop. We aim to make the workshop as accessible as possible.

Workshop start times

• VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS: 10.00am

• QLD: 9.00am

• SA: 9.30am

• NT: 8.00am

• WA: 7.00am

• New Zealand: 12.00pm

For other time zones please go to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

About the facilitators

Judy and Emma are the co-founders and co-directors of Cultivating Change, a monitoring, evaluation and learning consultancy. We work across the health and social sectors, including evaluations tackling “wicked problems”, particularly in preventing domestic and family violence, where change is non-linear, and progress can be difficult to measure. We love working with evaluation stakeholders to co-design 'practical principles' that are clear, action-oriented, and can guide ways of working in projects from small-scale interventions to long-term system change.

Our extensive experience in training and facilitation, including developing online workshops, ensures you will have a practical and engaging learning experience. We apply adult learning techniques by building in opportunities for applied learning, incorporating real-world case studies, and drawing on the groups’ collective experience for peer learning.