The Evaluation Center

04/11/2025

The 2025 Western Michigan University Authors Reception included 32 WMU authors who published books in 2024. Only four were staff (not faculty) -- all from The Evaluation Center.

03/27/2025

📣 Don't miss out on our next Evaluation Café event!

We will be joined by Sarah Mason, director of the Center for Research Evaluation at the University of Mississippi, for her presentation, "Err …. You're an evaluator? Research on explaining evaluators to non-evaluators."

📅 Date: Wednesday, April 9
⏰ Time: Noon EST
📍 Location: Zoom (Virtual) or 4410 Ellsworth Hall (In-person)

👉 Register to attend virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdOiqrDkpHtRfzzee9ODjtdZR4iOnjehS #/registration

03/25/2025

Learn how to create a compelling evaluation plan for your next grant proposal with Valeo!

Ready to level up your grant writing skills? Register for Valeo’s self-paced online course, "Developing Evaluation Plans for Grant Proposals." In less than an hour, you’ll learn how to craft the four essential components of a powerful evaluation plan.

Through a series of engaging lessons, you’ll build an evaluation plan step-by-step and see how it all comes together in a succinct and impactful summary.

To help you put what you learn into practice, you can download Valeo’s evaluation plan checklist, glossary of key evaluation terms, and guide to finding an external evaluator.

Don't miss out! Sign up now: https://www.valeoeval.com/products/Developing-Evaluation-Plans-for-Gran-Proposals.aspx

03/13/2025

Yesterday marked our 14th consecutive year welcoming the sitting American Evaluation Association president to Western Michigan University. AEA President Karen Jackson met with faculty, staff, and students; gave a public lecture on sharing leadership and engaging community; participated a panel about service to the profession, and of course, met with the amazing student-evaluators from our Evaluation Lab.

01/30/2025

📣 Don't miss out on our next Evaluation Café event! We will be joined by Daniela Schröter, associate professor, and Lyssa Becho, principal research associate, both from Western Michigan University, along with Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, professor at the University of Connecticut, for their presentation, "Navigating the Garden of Evaluation Approaches."

📅 Date: Wednesday, February 12
⏰ Time: Noon EST
📍 Location: Zoom (Virtual) or 4410 Ellsworth Hall (In-person)

👉 Register to attend virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcuihqD8jH9SvGsnMvdemurZArJ692-LX #/registration

01/17/2025

Happy Birthday to the WMU Evaluation Lab! The Evaluation Lab provides students with hands-on learning opportunities in evaluation and local organizations with affordable services to help them measure their outcomes and identify improvement opportunities. One year ago today, the lab welcomed 10 student employees and open its doors for business. The lab now has 11 student employees and is working with seven local organizations. Learn more at The Evaluation Center's next Evaluation Cafe when lab director Brandon Youker and three student-evaluators will reflect on the past year. https://wmich.edu/evaluation/cafe

01/07/2025

Take a deep dive into the world of evaluation with The Evaluation Café! Join us for engaging discussions and presentations on evaluation topics. Our Café speakers bring fresh perspectives, seek input on real-life evaluation challenges, and showcase their latest work in the field.

You can attend in person at 4410 Ellsworth or virtually via Zoom.

Please mark your calendars for our exciting spring series!

All sessions begin at noon EST. See you there!

View our Spring 2025 lineup: https://wmich.edu/evaluation/cafe

11/20/2024

🎉 Congratulations to Lyssa Wilson Becho, principal research associate here at The Evaluation Center, for receiving the Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award from the American Evaluation Association! 🌟

This award recognizes Lyssa’s early-career achievements in evaluation practice, scholarship, and leadership. As EvaluATE’s principal investigator, Lyssa is advancing evaluation capacity within the NSF’s ATE program while championing equity and culturally responsive practices.

We’re proud to celebrate Lyssa’s impact on the field and her ongoing contributions to evaluation at WMU and beyond! 💛🐴

Learn more: https://wmich.edu/evaluation/news/2024/11/becho-award24

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10/29/2024

10/25/2024

Posters, and presentations, and receptions, oh my!

Thursday of is a wrap. We had a wonderful day connecting and learning!

10/24/2024

It’s safe to say Wednesday was a success at !

Wondering what Western Michigan University and The Evaluation Center are up to at the American Evaluation Association Conference? Check out our scheduled presentations, posters, and more: https://wmich.edu/evaluation/aea

10/23/2024

We hope to see you during the Meet the Authors reception at AEA tonight! Make sure to visit us at Booth 111 for:

* Fun evaluation themed stickers
* Temporary tattoos to show your Eval love
* An invitation to join us at the next Eval Cafe
* Evaluation word games and
* Exciting drawings for the chance to win 30% off a Valeo course of your choice, or the new Core Concepts in Evaluation book

10/22/2024

Our contributions to this year's silent auction at include a great selection of locally sourced items from Bell's Beer, Kalamazoo Candle Company, Factory Coffee, and Grayling Ceramics - plus Valeo, our own new elearning program!

10/18/2024

We're excited to share our hot-off-the-press evaluation stickers and TATTOO at AEA2024. Stop by booth #111 early and often next week in Portland!

10/09/2024

📣 Don't miss out on next week's Evaluation Café event! We will be joined by Western Michigan University's Megan Lopez, Senior Research Associate for her presentation, "Advancing Evaluation Capacity Building: Key Insights from Researchers and Practitioners."

📅 Date: Wednesday, October 16
⏰ Time: Noon EST
📍 Location: Zoom (Virtual) or 4410 Ellsworth Hall (In-person)
👉 Register to attend virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqcOCtrj4qHNHoymWb4nb4NtZDuFhMT0JO #/registration

10/08/2024

🎉 Sticker Design Contest Recap! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in The Evaluation Center’s 2024 Sticker Design Contest! We were blown away by the creativity and enthusiasm from our evaluation community.

Check out this graphic showcasing all the amazing submissions, and join us in congratulating our winner, Laura Hones! Her design, "Peace, Love, Eval," will be printed and handed out at the 2024 AEA conference in Portland. We hope to see you there!

Stay tuned for more updates, and thanks again to everyone who submitted—you truly made this contest special!

10/03/2024

🌟 Take a Dive Deep into Evaluation Theory with Valeo's "Theoretical Approaches to Program Evaluation" Course!

Ready to elevate your program evaluation game? Unravel the mysteries of evaluation approaches, models, and theories with Valeo's expertly crafted course!

🔍 Dig into the following evaluation approaches:

✨ Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation

✨ Context, Process, Input, Product Evaluation

✨ Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation

✨ Goal-Free Evaluation

✨ Program Theory-Driven Evaluation

✨ Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Explore each approaches key features and implications for practice. Wondering about mixing-and-matching approaches? Questioning the relevance of theory to your work? This course has the answers!

🌐 Ready to enrich your practice? Sign up now: https://www.valeoeval.com/ProductSubCats.aspx?SubCatID=5

Or, view our video to learn more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxp39GL366U

Learn about six program evaluation approaches to strengthen your evaluation practice and expand your thinking as part of Valeo's "Theoretical Approaches to P...

09/30/2024

Last call for all our creative evaluation friends! Sticker designs are due TOMORROW, OCT. 1!

We invite you to join the fun and submit a design that showcases your love for evaluation. The winning design will be printed with the artist's name, featured in our social media, and distributed at our booth at the 2024 American Evaluation Association conference. Plus, the winner will get 100 free stickers featuring their design.

Submit your design here: https://wmich.edu/evaluation/stickers