Workshop: Navigating AI in Evaluation, from Basics to Advanced Applications

Date and time: Tuesday 11 November and Tuesday 18 November 2025, 9.30am - 1.00pm AEDT (registration from 9.15am). Registrants are to attend both sessions. (full day workshop - 2 sessions)

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

Facilitators: Gerard Atkinson

Register online by: Monday 10 November 2025. Spaces limited to 25 participants

Fees (GST inclusive): Members $375.00, AES Organisational member staff $505.00, Non-members $589.00, Student member $179.00, Student non-member $275.00* *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.

Please note: Attendees to have access to a paid or free version of an AI service such as OpenAI ChatGPT or Anthropic Claude, or offline LLM system such as LM Studio or AnythingLLM

Workshop Overview

In the ever-evolving landscape of policy and program evaluation, this workshop aims to equip intermediate-level professionals with a comprehensive understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the policy and practice guidelines around ethical and secure AI use, and its strategic integration into the evaluation process..

Workshop Content

The workshop comprises five distinct subsessions, each addressing crucial aspects of AI in evaluation:

• Foundational knowledge on AI models and approaches;

• Ethical considerations and policy frameworks in applying AI;

• AI tools available to evaluators and use cases;

• AI prompt engineering for evaluation contexts;

• Agentic AI applications in evaluation;

• Practical evaluation scenarios applying AI tools.

The practical evaluation scenarios include a worked case study where participants will apply AI tools to develop and deliver evaluation outputs.

Workshop Objectives

This workshop aims to bridge the knowledge gap for evaluators, ensuring they have the skills to navigate and leverage AI effectively. Focusing on research methods and project management, this workshop will equip professionals with tools to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of evaluations in an AI-driven era. It will also enable them to evaluate programs and policies that incorporate AI approaches as part of their design.

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 4 – Research methods and systematic inquiry

• Domain 5 – Project management

• Domain 7 – Evaluation Activities

Who should attend?

Intermediate sessions assume the audience has a working knowledge of the topic or concept but provides accessible language and avoids technical details to ensure engagement from non-expert audiences.

Workshop start times

• VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS: 9.30am

• QLD: 8.30am

• SA: 9.00am

• NT: 8.00am

• WA: 6.30am

• New Zealand: 11.30am

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

About the facilitators

Gerard Atkinson Gerard Atkinson is an independent evaluation consultant who has worked with big data and AI approaches for over 20 years, originally as a physicist then as a strategy consultant and evaluator. He is also Managing Director of Iris Ethics, Australia’s first HREC dedicated to reviews of projects in the evaluation, market research, and social research sector. Prior to this he was a Director at ARTD Consultants where he chaired the Learning and Development committee. He has an MBA in Business Analytics focusing on the applications of machine learning to operational data. Gerard has previously presented at AES conferences on big data (2018), experimental tests of AI applications in evaluation (2023, 2024), and applied AI in evaluation (2024, 2025)