The purpose of my talk is to make a case for MERL Tech attendees to get more involved with the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and to provide some avenues for increased involvement. I learned at last year’s MERL Tech DC conference that many in the MERL Tech crowd do not see a place for themselves at the AEA table because there is a perception that AEA is too academic and traditional in its understanding of evaluation. Funny enough, many members of AEA think the same thing. There is a growing call for practicing evaluators to share their learnings as a way of building up a practical knowledge base. MERL Tech attendees can really contribute to this knowledge base because they’re so focused on learning from what actually happens during an evaluation. Also, many AEA members can benefit from the wisdom of MERL Tech attendees with respect to using technology effectively in their practice. In addition to making the case for increased MERL Tech attendee involvement, I will share some ways attendees can get involved, from presenting at the annual conference to getting involved with local affiliates and Topical Interest Groups to blogging about their experiences. Full disclosure: I’m a current AEA Board Member and a practicing evaluator. I want to make sure those of us working in the trenches feel like our contributions are valued within AEA.
Eric's slides
