Spring 2008 NEWSLETTER
- The President's Message
- MAE President Welcomes New Board Members
- Dr. Standards
- Professional Development Opportunities
- MAE Member News
- Newsletter Sponsor
- MAE Secretariat Contact Information
- Newsletter Feedback
The President’s Message
by Meg Blinkiewicz
It’s time to celebrate! More than 90 colleagues came together for the MAE’s 13th Annual Conference on March 31 in Lansing. The keynote speaker, Dr. Melvin Mark, presented a thought-provoking way of thinking about evaluation. Our afternoon sessions included workshops for each of the three groups the MAE serves; evaluation users, funders, and evaluators. I would like to thank the MAE members who worked diligently to make the 2008 conference a success, along with our secretariat, Public Sector Consultants. Feedback from conference-goers has been quite positive and we’re already beginning to plan for the 2009 conference.
Other activities also are being planned for 2008 and 2009, including professional development sessions on topics of interest to MAE members. These workshops will be offered throughout the state to maximize opportunities for all members. Stay tuned to the MAE website for more details.
The MAE board will hold its annual retreat in June. At the top of our list is an assessment of our current operating model to ensure its sustainability. The board also will discuss our progress with respect to establishing strategic relationships with organizations that share our vision.
Finally, if you haven’t renewed your membership to MAE, please take
a few minutes to tour this website to learn more about the history
of MAE, membership or professional
development opportunities. We would like to report that we have reached
the 100 member mark by our June retreat. For additional membership information
contact Jacquie LaFay at (517) 484-4954.
Yours truly, |
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MAE President Welcomes New Board Members
Just in case you were not able to attend the MAE annual meeting held during our annual conference, I want to introduce you to our newest board members:
Christian Coryn, PhD
Christian Coryn is the director of the Interdisciplinary PhD in Evaluation program (IDPE) at The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University. He has published numerous scholarly, peer reviewed papers in journals. Along with Michael Scriven and E. Jane Davidson, Mr. Coryn led the development of the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, for which he serves as editor. He has been involved in and led numerous evaluations across several substantive domains, including evaluations of programs in the areas of education, health, community and international development, and social and human service. Mr. Coryn specializes in evaluation theory, logic, and methodology, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, and advanced statistical modeling techniques.
Mr. Coryn has given lectures and workshops both nationally and internationally,
including the Evaluation 101 workshop at the 2008 Michigan Association for
Evaluation (MAE) conference, a workshop on goal-free evaluation and Scriven’s
Key Evaluation Checklist (KEC) in Switzerland in 2007, and a workshop at the
2006 MAE conference with Michael Scriven. He has also served in several leadership
roles for the American Evaluation Association (AEA), chairing several topical
interest groups (TIGs) and serving on its diversity task force and mentoring
task force.
Mr. Coryn holds a BS in Psychology from Indiana University and an MA in Applied
Social Psychology from Indiana University. He earned his PhD in Evaluation
at Western Michigan University.
Ruth Mohr, PhD, MPH, BSN
Ruth Mohr is an independent evaluation and program planning consultant. Her evaluation practice is informed by training in organization studies (PhD, University of Michigan), health education (MPH, UCLA) and nursing (BSN, Illinois Wesleyan University). Ms. Mohr has more than 35 years of experience in community, academic, and clinical settings with special expertise in the health arena. Much of her work has focused on cancer control programs and inter-organizational collaboration development.
In addition to authoring numerous evaluation and research reports and presentations, she has served as a member of the national CDC/ORC Macro Comprehensive Cancer Evaluation Advisory Committee, co-authored Reengineering Health Care: Building on CQI, and served as consultant to the Michigan State Commission on Patient Safety for the development of its patient safety report to Governor Granholm. During the course of evaluation work, she has worked with organizations and evaluators in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Ms. Mohr is a long-time member of MAE and has served on professional development committees. She recently co-chaired the American Evaluation Association’s Health topical interest group (TIG).
Laurie Van Egeren, PhD
Laurie Van Egeren is the director of the Community Evaluation and Research Center and co-director of the National Center for the Study of University Engagement, both at Michigan State University. While her evaluation work crosses many areas, much of it focuses on the evaluation of statewide youth and early childhood programs, including the state evaluations of 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ after-school programs, the All Students Achieve Program—Parent Involvement and Education (ASAP-PIE) initiative, and the Child Care Expulsion Prevention Program (CCEP). Ms. Van Egeren has particular evaluation interests in multi-level models that capture the contributions of program-level or supervisor-level characteristics in the outcomes of individual participants, as well as building organizational program capacity. Finally, she studies systems change in the development of university outreach and engagement.
Ms. Van Egeren holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Michigan State University.
The MAE thanks departing board members Warren Curtis, Jane
Morgan, and Victoria (Essenmacher) Straub for the
time and talent they generously shared with the MAE. We wish you all the best!
DR. STANDARDS
Dear Dr. Standards:
Approximately 18 months ago, I contracted to provide an evaluation for a small agency serving men returning to the community from prison. As usual, I designed the data collection procedures as part of the overall evaluation design. Because of limited funding, the agency could not afford to pay for dedicated data collectors and agreed to assume this responsibility internally with existing program staff.
Throughout the first six months of the evaluation, we discussed, cajoled,
and almost pleaded but there was almost no data collection. Further, the small
amount of data collection that occurred was donehaphazardly. The agency was
able to obtain second-year funding about nine months into the evaluation,
with the promise of outcome data at the end of year one. I reiterated the
problems with data collection procedures to agency administration and staff.
It is now the 12-month reporting period, and once again the agency has failed
to gather data in a responsible or reliable manner.
So as not to have egg on my face with the funder, I collected data myself,
but it was highly subjective and retrospective—consisting essentially
of the men’s memories about their experiences with the program and their
perceptions of outcomes. The data source did not match what was promised to
the funder.
I am concerned about how to report the data, and what, if any, conclusions can be drawn. If I focus the report on the results of the suspect data, I risk compromising the perception of me as a competent professional. On the other hand, if I describe the failure of the agency to follow through and thereby assure reliable, valid data, I am compromising my position with them and potentially jeopardizing their current and future relationship with the funder. How do I resolve my quandary?
In “Dataless” Prison
Dear Dataless:
Here is a place where formal agreements (Standard P2 in The Program Evaluation Standards, Sage, 1994) at the beginning of the evaluation come in handy. If you had the agency's commitment in writing to collect data you would have some recourse if they neglected that responsibility. You could seek an intervention from someone higher up in the organization or from the funder. You would also have grounds for terminating the contract.
Haphazard data collection can be worse than a terminated contract because it reflects poorly on the evaluator. Contract termination for due cause reflects positively on the integrity of the evaluator. In many cases it is not worth continuing at any cost an evaluation that is not being done well.
In this situation, evaluator integrity should guide the response. State the limitations of data collected during year 1 and develop a written agreement for year 2 that clearly specifies the roles, responsibilities, and timelines of each party in data collection, and includes a termination clause available to both parties if the terms of the agreement are not followed.
Good luck!
Dr. Standards
Call for Articles
The MAE newsletter includes articles on evaluation theory, practice, and methods, as well as articles on related technology and tools, to assist evaluators, funders, and program stakeholders in their work. Articles should be original works or previously published with documentation of permission to reprint, 500 to 1,500 words in length, and submitted electronically. Articles may be submitted at any time for consideration by MAE; the person submitting the article will be notified prior to its publication.
Please submit your articles to the MAE Secretariat at info@maeeval.org.
Professional Development Opportunities
Summer Research Training Institute: Cluster-Randomized Trials
The National Center for Education Research in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education has announced it second Summer Research Training Institute on Cluster-Randomized Trials to increase the national capacity of researchers to develop and conduct rigorous evaluations of the impact of education interventions.
When: July 6–18, 2008
Where: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
To apply: Information is available on the IES website; click
here for further
information.
For assistance please contact Dr. Christina Chhin at (202) 219-2280
or christina.chhin@ed.gov.
TEI Washington D.C. Summer Program
The Evaluators' Institute is offering 28 courses in the Washington D.C. area, including, qualitative evaluation methods, qualitative data analysis, program theory and logic models, evaluation research methods, evaluation design, standards and principles, working with stakeholders, and management. Courses are held July 14-26, 2008. Click here for more information and how to register.
Look for more Professional Development Opportunities in the FALL of 2008!
Tentative topics include: evaluation essential skills training, quality assurance for evaluation businesses, and SPSS and/or SPSS syntax.
MAE Board Members Spread the Word about Evaluation
On April 4, 2008, Denise Hartsough, currently serving her seventh year on the MAE Board and a MAE member since 1998, taught a 2-hour workshop sponsored by the Western Michigan University School of Social Work on Measuring Participant Outcomes: An Introduction to a United Way Approach. Workshop participants earned continuing education credits for their attendance and participation.
New MAE Board member Ruth Mohr and former MAE President Neva Nahan presented the workshop, Tools for a Learning Organization, on May 12, 2008, as a Michigan Nonprofit Association Annual Superconference pre-session in Lansing. This session provided participants with skills to facilitate their growth as a learning organization. Participants learned to identify and use data to document successes, identify weaknesses and problems, measure progress toward goals, and systematically collect data on questions important to the organizational mission. Information gained from this process empowers the organization to make better decisions and allocations of resources. Mohr and Nahan explained practical approaches and tools and encouraged participants to support a new mindset about evaluation that embraces data as an essential tool for improvement.
On June 9, 2008, Elizabeth Agius and Neva Nahan will present a 3-hour session, The Purpose of and Primary Steps to Conducting an Evaluation, in the Metro-Detroit area for Certified Prevention Specialists at Hegira Inc. Hegira provides substance abuse treatment and prevention services in Wayne County. The prevention specialists will receive continuing education credit for their participation in the session.
Have a group that needs to know about evaluation?
The MAE can provide a learning opportunity tailored to your organization’s
needs! Contact MAE Professional Development Committee Co-Chairs Elizabeth
Agius (eagius@wayne.edu) or Neva Nahan (n.nahan@wayne.edu)
for more information.
MAE Member News
MAE Board Member Denise Hartsough, Community Investment Director of the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, has joined the United Way of America’s National Professional Council Mobilization Task Force on Increasing High School Graduation Rates. The Task Force aims to create practical tools to help United Ways increase high school graduation rates.
Curtis Warren, MAE Board Member and Director of Employment Services at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan, is one of three KCC employees chosen for the Spring 2008 G. Edward Haring Employee of the Semester Award.
Welcome new members!
The MAE welcomes the following colleagues who have recently joined the MAE:
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Click here to view the MAE Membership brochure. |
Renew your annual membership!If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to renew your membership. MAE has recently updated its annual membership to a rolling enrollment. This means your membership is now valid for 12 months no matter when you enroll! You can renew your enrollment with the MAE online by clicking here. |
Submit your news!
As a service to our members, the MAE is adding a Member News section to our newsletter. Although this section is viewed by our larger audience, only current MAE members may post information. If you want to share the news of a recent promotion, project, achievement, training, contract, or any other professional milestone, please send the information listed below to the MAE Secretariat at info@maeeval.org in order to be included in upcoming newsletters.
- Your name (including degrees or titles earned, if applicable)
- Business name or employer
- Brief description of the professional information you want to share with the evaluation community (no more than 75 words)
- Photographs: You may send a photo, if you wish--preferably a portrait
This Newsletter is Sponsored By
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Battle Creek, MI |
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MAE Secretariat Contact Information
Jacqueline LaFay
MAE Secretariat
c/o Public Sector Consultants
600 W Saint Joseph Street, Suite 10
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: (517) 484-4954
Fax: (517) 484-6549
E-mail: jlafay@pscinc.com
Newsletter Feedback
Please let us know how you like (or dislike) the new format of the MAE Newsletter. Please e-mail your comments to info@maeeval.org.