As we look forward to gathering at c2019 in Halifax, it’s my pleasure to share some of the highlights from CES. We have much to celebrate this year.

Our ability to deliver high quality professional learning has been supported through the active work of Chapters, contributors from across Canada sharing via webinar, and the development of a solid evaluation curriculum through the e-Institute. The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation has reached an important milestone, becoming an open-source resource.

Scott Kettles joined as Manager of Operations and Member Services. This has enabled us to focus on member services, supporting Chapters, and creating systems to meet the growing technological needs of our members, including providing platforms for meetings and webinars, engaging members through discussion and e-votes, and documenting technological requirements for a seamless member experience.

Our Professional Designation Program (PDP) is maturing, with a renewal of the Competencies for Canadian Evaluation Practice and the Credentialing Board. We are actively working to enhance the diversity of the Credentialing Board to reflect the diversity of members. The number of credentialed evaluators is growing, and agencies are increasingly recognizing the credential.

We are always striving to employ good governance practices, building sound management, ethical conduct and effectiveness into our processes. A review of CES Ethics Guidance is underway, and we look forward to reviewing the results and updating Society processes.  We are increasing transparency through a quicker turnaround of draft minutes so that Chapter representatives can update and consult with their Chapters about emerging issues and are posting more information on the website and sharing it through the e-news. We will also be considering the best structure to support the new strategic plan, with the goal of facilitating excellent work and clear communication.

Overall the Society is thriving across the country. We are seeing a growth in conference attendance, engagement with Chapter events, professional development opportunities and networking. We continue to receive essential support from sponsors, who are important members, vendors and partners. Through this high degree of engagement, we continue to be able to support a range of members, in cooperation with the CES Educational Fund and Consortium of Universities for Evaluation Education, including students and emerging evaluators, as well as all members at different stages and from different disciplines. We also hope to engage the Fellows more actively to build support for evaluation at all levels.

CES remains committed to Reconciliation and the Board will be focusing on Reconciliation at the fall meeting with the intention of hosting an interactive conversation at c2020 about how evaluators and CES can respond to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

We’ve made some exciting advances in incorporating our values across the organization, introducing a number of initiatives from the Sustainability Working Group to the Halifax and Ottawa conferences, building in a Greening Rubric to measure our progress. A sustainability stocktaking exercise is underway, and preliminary results will be presented at the AGM. The Diversity Working Group has completed a desk review to inform a CES Diversity Framework. The Board has asked that all CES processes include not only a statement about diversity but also a process for supporting it.

It has been my honour to Chair the strategic planning process, where we have consulted with external and internal stakeholders to determine strategic priorities for the organization. I look forward to presenting an early form of the CES Strategic Plan at the upcoming AGM, and invite members to share their thoughts.

It’s been a privilege working with the dedicated volunteers throughout the organization, including the CES Board, Working Groups, Committees, Chapters, and Fellows. Hundreds of CES members have contributed volunteer time through CES national and Chapters, supporting the ongoing success and development of Volunteer Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) around the world, as well as planning and hosting the national CES conference.

Thank you for being part of CES, and please contact me with any questions or to discuss your ideas.

Warm regards,
Sarah Farina, CE
President
Canadian Evaluation Society