Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund

In support of the objects of the CESEF, a pilot program to test the feasibility and appropriateness of the Evaluation Mentoring Award – Aboriginal will be offered based on available funding. CESEF wishes to facilitate the advancement of education by sharing the program evaluation knowledge, experience and insight of established evaluation professionals with Aboriginal students and junior evaluators. We will seek out Aboriginal Mentors or build on existing evaluation capacity in the Aboriginal community to support award recipients. A program evaluation project (or series of projects) with a duration of up to six months is envisioned to test the efficacy of this innovative approach to mentoring and capacity building.

Benefits
The benefits of a mentoring program to both Mentor and Mentee are widely recognized. Mentoring has been proven to develop new skills, overcome barriers and develop confidence in junior evaluators through experiential learning. In addition, volunteer Mentors find that they can share their knowledge and experience and gain a grass-roots perspective and renewed energy through this learning partnership.

Objectives
The CESEF Evaluation Mentoring Awards are intended to:
• Further develop the evaluation skills and cultural competencies in an evaluation context for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal evaluators (students and Mentors);
• Support an needed program evaluation project in an Aboriginal community; and
• Expand the abilities of evaluators to work within globally accepted standards of evaluation enhanced by local culture and indigenous knowledge systems.

In the longer term, the CESEF Evaluation Mentoring Award Program – Aboriginal will:
• Foster the development of mentoring teams that are sensitive to the needs of program evaluation studies conducted in Aboriginal communities;
• improve the use of evaluation in decision-making about programs, policies and initiatives; and
• Provide efficient and effective programs, policies and initiatives, to the benefit of Canadians in an Aboriginal community and/or cultural context.

Based on available funding, the pilot program award will provide up to CAD $5,000 per award recipient to help offset the following expenses:
• Specified research expenses such as document purchase and specialized research-related software not otherwise available;
• Transportation, accommodation and meals related to travel for discussions with the mentoring team. Efficiencies such as piggybacking onto planned travel to conferences is strongly encouraged;
• Telephone, Internet and other communication expenses related to discussions of the evaluation program; and
• Registration fees for evaluation-related workshops or conferences.

Eligibility requirements of Mentee
• Post secondary student who is enrolled in an accredited postsecondary institution and is studying program evaluation. A Mentor must be identified in advance of the application and the applicant must receive approval from the Mentor to ensure that support is available to the student throughout the Award period. The specific program evaluation should be located in an Aboriginal community.
- OR -
• Junior evaluator who is not currently enrolled in a postsecondary program, is employed full-time, is engaged in program evaluation activities and has less than two years full-time experience as an evaluator. Applicants must identify their Mentoring in advance of their application and the applicant must have received approval and a commitment from their Mentor to provide support to the junior evaluator throughout the Award period. The specific evaluation should be located in an Aboriginal community.

Eligibility requirements of Mentor
• The Mentor must be willing to perform their tasks in a voluntary capacity. They should have approximately five years’ experience as a full-time program evaluator, have a one degree from a recognized university, provide a CV to the Expert Selection Panel, and provide references from three different clients for whom they have completed an evaluation project each of whom is willing to attest to their suitability as a Mentor.

Mentors and the award recipient will have regular opportunities to consult with each other via Internet communication tools or other communication means.

As funding becomes available, the applicants must complete the documentation process as provided by CESEF.

Award decisions by the Board of Directors of the CESEF will take into consideration the recommendations of an Expert Selection Panel and the availability of resources. Decisions by the CESEF Board regarding awards are final.

As this is a pilot program, all participants must be willing to share their experiences with the CESEF to help develop future directions for the award. An evaluation/feedback form will be distributed by the award recipient and the Mentor. In addition, the participants will be encouraged to present their lessons learned at an evaluation conference and/or prepare an article regarding their experiences for an evaluation journal.

Applicants must demonstrate their adherence to ethical practice by indicating how they used the CES Guidelines for Ethical Conduct.

As part of good practice and as part of CESEF reporting requirements to the Canadian Revenue Agency, CESEF will follow up with Award winners subsequent to the completion of the program/award to ensure that the award was beneficial and met the needs of Canadians.

For more details on this program, please contact secretariat@evaluation-education.org

As funding becomes available, this program will be announced on the CESEF web site and distributed to CESEF members and to CES members. If you wish to become a member of CESEF, please click on Membership on this web site.

If you wish to fund or donate to this program, please click on Donations on this web site.