The Professionalisation Project is reviewing pathways to professionalisation considering changes within the AES and developments in evaluation sector and market in Australia and internationally.
The project will identify options and recommend next steps for consideration by the AES Board.
Project team formed: March 2025
Project journey
Pre-2017 – AES had ongoing conversations about the potential benefits of professionalisation and potential options it could pursue.
2017 — AES commissioned a review of pathways towards professionalisation, which recommended strengthening the foundations for professional practice before considering more formal approaches.
2024 — Professionalisation was included in the AES Strategic Plan 2024–2028 as part of strengthening professional identity, capability development and career pathways.
2025 — The Professionalisation Project commenced, reviewing previous AES work, contemporary evidence and approaches used by comparable organisations.
2026 — The project explored possible approaches to professional recognition and sought input from AES committees, project teams, and members as well as a small sample of commissioners and First Nations perspectives. Following this work, the Board agreed that the project should move into a design phase.
Current status
The project is moving from exploration into design. Work is beginning on possible models for voluntary professional recognition, including how they could operate in practice and their indicative costs. At the same time, the AES is continuing to engage with members on the findings from the exploratory work. Feedback from this engagement will inform the development of possible models.
Next steps
The project team will develop potential models for consideration by the AES Board. Members will then have a further opportunity to consider and provide feedback on more concrete options before any decision is made about whether to proceed with a model.
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