As the new year gets under way, I would like to bring you up to date on emerging developments in the Professional Designations Program.

1. Growing interest in the CE designation

Wow! At last count we had 318 Credentialed Evaluators and the list is growing by the day! If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, check out the series of CE training webinars presented recently:

#1 Credentialed Evaluator Program Overview & Update
#2 The Road to Your CE
#3 Keeping the Momentum Going—Your CE Maintenance

2. Update on the PDP Evaluation

The final report of the evaluation of the Credentialed Evaluator (CE) designation will be reviewed by the Board in February 2016. Early drafts of the report reveal that it is full of rich information. It includes both encouraging findings and areas needing improvement. We will have lots to think about as we plan our path going forward. We will use our strategic priority, to advance the professionalization of evaluation in Canada, as a starting point for the CES management response to the evaluation and will focus on ways to:

• Improve the professional practice of evaluation in Canada;
• increase the self-identification of CES members as professional evaluators;
• broaden the range and reach of CES professional development opportunities;
• increase the take-up of CE credentials by both evaluators and by client-users; and
• address other emergent opportunities and challenges identified in the report.

As we review the findings and develop our action plans, there will be many opportunities for you to get involved, so stay tuned.

For further information, check the CES Web page on the Credentialed Evaluator Designation or call the CES Secretariat at 1-855-251-5721.

I think that 2016 is going to be a banner year for CES and for our now-well-recognized CE designation. I look forward to seeing you in St. John’s in June 2016 as we continue to forge new directions together.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Gail Vallance Barrington, PhD, FCMC, CE
CES Vice President