MERL Tech recently published a series of papers on the state of the field of technology in evaluation and other related disciplines. This is an excellent resource for those interested in technologies like big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and biometrics – and their role in evaluation. MERL Tech’s State of the Field series can be accessed on their website: http://merltech.org/new-research-the-state-of-the-field-of-merl-tech-2014-2019. MERL Tech is a platform and space for discussion, learning, and sharing experiences and challenges with the use of technologies for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) in the social impact, humanitarian, and international development fields. (from MERL Tech’s website)

The Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (JMDE) recently released a new issue, covering topics such as evaluation theory, interdisciplinarity, complexity, and evaluating surveillance activities for neurological conditions. It can be accessed here. JMDE is a completely open-access journal and all content is freely available to read. New Directions for Evaluation also released a special issue recently, Examining Issues Facing Communities of Color Today: The Role of Evaluation to Incite Change. This is certainly a timely issue and it’s also relevant to the Canadian Evaluation Society’s guiding principle of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness. This journal is not open-access, but if you’re also a member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), you have access through AEA’s…

On June 3 at 9AM Atlantic Time, Andrealisa Belzer will be on a panel for gLOCAL Evaluation Week to share potential impacts of Covid-19 on evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals. This is a free multi-day event. To participate, register https://www.glocalevalweek.org/user/register for the event and click this link shortly before the event begins on June 3  glocal.ceval.de to join the presentation directly. It will be held on Skype with questions being through a chat box.  Details for this and other sessions can be found at https://www.glocalevalweek.org/event-detail/789.  POSTER-Evaluation Day

Last month, we posted about a free webinar from EPAC on ethics challenges during COVID-19. Now, EPAC will be hosting a follow-up webinar! See below for details. EPAC’s highly popular April 9 brainstorming webinar focussed on current ethics challenges in the COVID-19 period. Participants wanted more; so our next webinar will look to the post-COVID future: What ethical challenges will arise when some organizations ramp up to resume their suspended operations, while others pivot in new directions? And how should ethics in organizations ‘ramp up’, or will it need to ‘pivot’ too? Will there be novel ethical issues in how to treat employees? The facilitators will again be Chris MacDonald,…

The coronavirus crisis is putting businesses and other organizations in many very tough spots. This webinar is an opportunity for participants to brainstorm together: what are the ethical issues that Canadian organizations face? What answers are being implemented? What ethical advice are you giving? The session will be facilitated by Chris MacDonald, business ethics professor at Ryerson University, and Robert Czerny, EPAC past-president. Prepare to share ethics questions and responses pertaining to your (or an) organization’s internal and external dealings, and its community and global responsibilities. The webinar takes place on Thursday, April 9 from noon to 1 p.m. EDT. It is free for everyone, both members of EPAC and non-members.…