The ABCs of Evaluation Capacity Building: Tools, Techniques, and Planning

This online workshop introduces a four-pronged approach to building and sustaining evaluation capacity in your professional work

In this interactive workshop, we move beyond “doing” evaluation to focus on evaluation capacity that lasts. Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) isn’t just about teaching someone how to write a survey; it’s about cultivating the structures, skills, and mindset that sustain inquiry and learning over time. Together, we’ll explore the latest ECB literature and dissect real-world case studies to identify what actually works (and what tends to get in the way). You’ll leave with a custom ECB action plan tailored to your specific organizational or client context, ready to spark engagement and build evaluation skills in others the moment you log off.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• Assess Readiness: Identify organizational entry points, capacity, and challenges that impact ECB efforts.
• Build Meaningful Engagement: Use evidence-informed strategies to motivate individuals and teams who may be indifferent or resistant to evaluation and planning.
• Customize Techniques that Work: Adapt ECB models, frameworks, strategies, and tools to fit the unique context and constraints of your specific evaluation situation.
• Design an Actionable Plan: Create a practical, step-by-step ECB roadmap aligned with your goals and the realities of your organization or clients.

Credentialled Evaluator Competency Domains:

• Reflective Practice

• Situational Practice

• Interpersonal Practice

About the Facilitator:

Allison Prieur, CE, is a learning-focused evaluator and founder of DARE Impact Consulting, with over 20 years of experience in health and human services as an internal leader, external consultant, and funder. She specializes in building evaluation capacity within non-profit organizations and funding bodies, helping teams move from compliance-driven reporting to strategic learning and evidence-informed decision making.

Allison brings deep technical expertise in evaluation design, mixed-methods research, survey and tool development, data analysis, and the facilitation of evaluative thinking. She has led multi-year evaluation capacity building initiatives, supported organizations through systems change efforts, and coached senior leaders to integrate evaluation into strategic planning and governance. Her approach blends methodological rigour with relational practice, ensuring evaluation is both technically sound and context-responsive.

She is a Credentialed Evaluator (CE) and a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary PhD in Evaluation program at Western Michigan University, where her research examines how organizations use evaluation to advance systems change and which evaluator competencies enable this work. She also holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work and Developmental Psychology.

Allison is known for translating complex evaluation concepts into practical tools and approaches that evaluators can apply with clarity and confidence.