The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) annual Student Case Competition provides an opportunity for university students from all regions of Canada to  acquire invaluable experience. This practice note by members of the winning team in  the 2015 competition explains how participating contributed to the development of  specific evaluation competencies. Participation in the competition is recommended  to other students as an excellent way to learn, grow, and develop evaluation expertise  that should prove useful in any chosen career. 

Evaluators often find themselves assuming a variety of roles as they examine programs and interact with the people who are connected to programs. The present article proposes that this is especially true when attempting to conduct an impact evaluation very quickly after a new program is initiated. Given the increasing trends toward program accountability, administrators will often undertake evaluations very quickly after new programs are initiated, and evaluators are increasingly asked to determine the impact of program that is not yet fully functioning.