Exploring Effective Strategies for Facilitating Evaluation Capacity Building

This AEA session was of particular interest to me. I would love to see more nonprofits investing in building their capacity with evaluation, and this session discussed ten strategies to do so:

1. Coaching/Mentoring: building a relationship with an evaluation expert who provides individualized technical and professional support
   
2. Technical Assistance: receiving help from an internal or external evaluator
   
3. Technology: using online resources such as websites and/or e-learning programs to learn from and about evaluation
   
4. Written Materials: reading and using written documents about evaluation processes and findings
   
5. Training: attending courses, workshops, and seminars on evaluation
   
6. Involvement in an Evaluation Process: participating in the design and/or implementation of an evaluation
   
7. Internship: participating in a formal program that provides practical evaluation experience for novices
   
8. Meetings: allocating time and space to discuss evaluation activities specifically for the purpose of learning from and about evaluation
   
9. Appreciative Inquiry: using an assets-based, collaborative, narrative approach to learning about evaluation that focuses on strengths within the organization
   
10. Communities of Practice: sharing evaluation experiences, practices, information, and readings among members who have common interests and needs (sometimes called learning circles)
    

See posts about other sessions I attended at this year's AEA: "American Evaluation Conference Summary Post"