Using Story to Communicate How Evaluations Make a Difference, Rochelle Zorzi and Yasser Ismail.
Click image for full presentation and here for presentation with speaking notes.
Outcome Harvesting from Stories: The Partnership Grants Learning Project, Heidi Schaeffer
Storytelling for Valuation of Service Excellence, Maureen McKenna
GUEST SPEAKERS
Benoît Gauthier is a seasoned evaluator with thirty years of experience. He has practiced evaluation for the Government of Canada, the Quebec government, and the not-for-profit sector. Since 1996, Mr. Gauthier has developed an interest in management issues; this interest has allowed him to bridge measurement concerns and management concerns. He has acquired the Credentialed Evaluator, Certified Management Consultant and Certified Marketing Research Professional certifications. He has received evaluation-related leadership and research awards. He is current president of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Evaluation Society.
Rochelle Zorzi: When Rochelle discovered evaluation in 1994, she was immediately intrigued. Since then, she has been involved in over 75 applied research and evaluation projects … and isn’t bored yet! As an experienced project manager, Rochelle is recognized for her ability to balance rigour with practicality, and her dedication to making a difference for her clients. She is also a skilled analyst, whether working with qualitative or quantitative data, and has a knack for synthesizing findings from multiple sources of evidence.
Rochelle gained international recognition as a result of her lead role with the Canadian Evaluation Society’s (CES) efforts to develop a Core Body of Knowledge (PDF) for evaluation. She has also promoted research into the value of evaluation, believing that evaluators must “walk the talk” by measuring and assessing the impact of their own efforts. As a regular presenter at CES conferences, she has delivered workshops about the value of evaluation, evaluating complex initiatives, doing evaluations that involve vulnerable populations, and utilization-focused writing.
Yasser Ismail: Yasser has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Research from Simon Fraser University. His graduate research focused on techniques, methods and theories of writing practices in contemporary creative and academic contexts. He has been involved with a variety of interviews, focus groups and literature reviews. His experience with oral history and storytelling gives him a flair for conducting qualitative analysis. In addition, his keen sense of interpersonal communication and attention to detail make him a strong addition to any team.
Yasser has a sensitive understanding of working with vulnerable populations, having conducted the safe collection of testimonies from illegally detained persons and victims of torture in the aftermath of the 2012 coup d’ état in his country of origin, the Maldives. Yasser dreams of setting up rigorous and effective evaluation and accountability practices for public institutions in the Maldives as the country struggles to establish a democratic government.
Maureen McKenna is a partner at Innovation Works, a consulting firm that helps build positive and resilient organizations. Maureen brings the leading-edge practice of Appreciative Inquiry, positive psychology and design thinking to help clients focus on creating energy, fostering innovation and engaging employees. Using Appreciative Inquiry methodology, she has conducted large-scale action research in healthcare, education and corporations. She is a Certified Management Consultant.
Heidi Schaeffer is a Knowledge Management, Learning and Evaluation Specialist at the Association of Ontario Health Centres. Heidi has 20 years experience in designing, delivering, and evaluating programs and projects related to social justice and community change in Canada, Africa and South-East Asia. Heidi conducted research in Outcome Mapping examining the effectiveness of indicators for measuring behavior change. Heidi is currently focused on indicator development for a holistic model of health care and an evaluation system to capture the impact of community capacity building initiatives grounded in the social determinants of health.