This in person half day workshop is being held in Ottawa on April 30. Seats are limited to 25 participants! Based on what previous attendees have said you don't want to miss this limited opportunity!
"I appreciate the way you modeled the various methods that can be used during the evaluation process. Your analogy of “evaluation is like a quilt” really stuck with me and is a great reminder of thinking about how we can capture the diversity and complexity of experiences"
"I really appreciated the way that the workshop was facilitated. A lot of hands-on arts-based activities was great. The content was great. Giving space for storytelling was also great. Looking forward to continue to learn and apply what I’ve learned."
"Love the way the evaluation concepts were taught. Very well organized. Puts community at the centre of the work, focus on improving, learning from a strength-based approach."
Date: Wednesday April 30, 2025 from 9 am to noon. Please arrive 15 minutes early so as to have the workshop start on time at 9am.
Location:
University of Ottawa
Room 4004
Social Sciences Building
120 University Private
Please email info@evaluationcanada.ca to notify the organizers if you have any accessibility requirements and require accommodations.
Pricing:
CES members: $250 plus tax
Non CES members: $300 plus tax
Member Non-profit organizations: $ 200 plus tax (non profit staff can join for a discounted price of $100 plus tax)
Students with valid student ID: $50 plus tax (limit of up to ten spots)
There will be a coffee break. Please email info@evaluationcanada.ca with any dietary requirements. Participants are asked to bring a travel mug as the event is environmentally friendly.
The Truth About Stories: Using Storytelling to Support Learning, Renewal and Transformation
Abstract
In a changing world, our methods need to help us understand the realities of those touched by our evaluations, as well as our own realities. This workshop will present the use of story as a powerful method for supporting learning, renewal and transformation. As maintained by Hodges (2014) “if we want to transform society, we must learn to tell – and listen to – a new set of stories about the world we want to create.” While the facilitators will present information on storytelling, this workshop will be highly participatory. The facilitators will provide an introduction to the story as a method, the difference between story and fiction, ways to collect stories, practical tips for storytelling, as well as examples of stories they have heard and used in evaluations. Particularly important in this time of reconciliation, story represents a traditional way knowledge is shared in Indigenous cultures, transmitting history and memory. However, storytelling crosses cultures and millennia and is a means of ensuring relevance and authenticity in many contexts.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn about the importance and use of story as a method in evaluation.
Participants will learn different ways to collect and share stories, including the incorporation of other methods into storytelling.
Participants will learn about and reflect on the considerations and ethics involved in using storytelling in evaluation.
Speakers
Larry Bremmer has worked in social research and evaluation for 45 years. In 1984, he established Proactive to provide research and evaluation services to the not-for-profit and public sectors. He is recognized for his depth of knowledge and his willingness to share his knowledge, particularly in the areas of Indigenous and decolonizing approaches to evaluation and the inclusion of people, such as children and youth, whose voices are habitually overlooked and undervalued. Larry, who has worked across Canada and internationally, has been engaged by government departments (federal, provincial, territorial), Indigenous communities and organizations, community-based agencies, post-secondary institutions, school districts, regional health authorities, as well as museums and visitor centres. In 2012, Larry was elected National President of CES. As Past President, he represented CES on the international stage where h e was the driving force behind the creation of the global EvalPartners’ network EvalIndigenous. In 2017, Larry received the CES Service Award and in 2018 the Contribution to Evaluation in Canada Award. In 2019, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Evaluation Society (FCES). Larry is also co-editor of the new permanent section of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, Roots and Relations: Celebrating Good Medicine in Evaluation.
Linda Lee, a passionate advocate for using evaluation to create a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world, is Vice-President and a Partner in the Manitoba-based evaluation and social research company Proactive Information Services Inc. A CES Award winner and Fellow (FCES), Linda has worked in evaluation and research for 40+ years. She has been a keynote speaker, presented papers and facilitated workshops at many national and international conferences. She has conducted evaluations across Canada and internationally, including many countries in East Central and Southeastern Europe, as well as Argentina and Lithuania. Linda, a former CES National President, has served on the CES Credentialing Board, the Fellows’ Executive, and was a founder of the original CES Diversity Working Group. She was a member of the CE Competencies Review Working Group which was tasked with revising and updating the Competencies for Canadian Evaluation Practice in 2017-18.
Registration