Activity Streams
Introduction
The primary goal of the European Evaluation Society is to promote theory, practice and utilization of high quality evaluation especially, but not exclusively, within the European countries. This goal is obtained by bringing together academics, policy makers and practitioners from all over Europe and from any professional sector, thus creating a forum where all participants can benefit from the co-operation and bridge building.
In order to further these aims, we have developed the following strategic priority areas that have been agreed by the present EES Board to act as a broad direction for our work over the next two years.
Proposed activity streams with suggested personnel
We adopted the term activity stream as a more dynamic idea concerning the work we will undertake during the next two years. The streams connect with our strategic directions and express convergence between the interests and experience of the members of the Board and their understanding of what is needed to energise our work.
Each coordinator will have a special although not exclusive responsibility to develop a plan of action for each activity stream. Our aim is to have a short statement to that effect by the end of July.Meetings will be virtual although we should aim to support meetings where we can so a small budget for activity should be prepared by each coordinator.
The following streams are not mutually exclusive. The expectation is that a coordinator of a stream will be encouraged to work with any other coordinator when required on joint actions. Their main function will be to ‘link’ the work of their activity stream to the Board and to think strategically about their area of coordination
Activity streams
1. Communications with particular responsibility for the WEB site and the newsletter ‘Evaluation Connections’ This area of activity is concerned with 'outward facing' work to communicate with our constituency outside the membership and put the EES 'on the map’ and connect with other societies. Clearly our Website is an important part of this work but not the only part.
Coordinator: Paulo Teixeira and Anne McKee
2. Connections with other societies
This area has developed as part of the strategic need to address the changing nature of evaluation societies and associations within Europe and wider afield. It requires particular attention in order that the EES can provide a distinctive brokering and knowledge development role within Europe and is the natural home for actions that further its main aims of promoting and developing good practice across and within Evaluation Societies. It will build on initial work undertaken in Strasbourg and will build an agenda to be followed up in Lisbon (The European Evaluation Network)
Coordinator: Murray Saunders and Marie Kaufmann
3. Professional Development and capacity building
This area is wider than training and is intended to capture the way in which we have a mission to develop good practice, exchange ideas and to build capacity in emerging societies and individuals. We have an excellent strategy document which is stiill relevant to the work of this group.
Coordinator: Roxana Mihalache, Maria Bustelo, supported by Elliot Stern
4. Resources and financial management
Given one of our key strategies is to put the EES on a more stable financial footing, this area of activity is much more than simply presenting the budget at meetings on the basis of information from the secretariat (although the coordinator would have responsibility for this). It should also include efforts to explore creative and sustainable ways in which we can procure funding streams and galvanise our fund raising efforts along with developing a strategy for how we can distribute resources for work within the society.
Coordinator: Ian Davies and Peter Wichmand
5. Members and membership services
This area of activity will involve close collaboration with activity stream 1 but has a focus on members specifically, in other words it is ‘inward facing’. It might also lead thinking on how we can develop our membership base in particular the recruitment of institutional members and what might be an institutional membership package.
Coordinator: Burt Perrin and Maria Bustelo
6. Quality of practice, standards and accreditation
Building on existing work undertaken by the previous ‘standards group’ led by Thomas Widmar, this strand acknowledges the growing interest in these issues and will provide a forum for onward discussion, critical analysis and an overview of relevant international developments.
Coordinator: Bob Picciotto with Roxana Mihalache
We welcome any member to contact the secretariat to become actively involved in the work of one of the activity streams