International keynote speakers
The international keynote speakers will bring different perspectives to the conference on the theme Evidence and Evaluation.
Professor William Trochim, Professor of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University; Director of Evaluation for the Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center; Director of Evaluation for Extension and Outreach; Director of the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation; Past-President (2008) of the American Evaluation Association
Professor Trochim has published widely in the areas of applied research methods and evaluation and is well known for his textbook, the Research Methods Knowledge Base, and for his social research methods website. His research focuses on the use of evaluation and applied social research methods for managing and enhancing science and biomedical research in the twenty-first century. He created a structured conceptual modeling approach that integrates participatory group process with multivariate statistical methods to generate concept maps and models useful for theory development, planning and evaluation.
Dr Philip Davies, Executive Director, Oxford Evidentia (formerly AIR UK - the UK subsidiary of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in Washington DC)
From 2000-2006 Dr Davies was Deputy Director of the Government Social Research Unit in the UK Cabinet Office, and later in HM Treasury.
Prior to joining the Cabinet Office in 2000 Dr Davies was a University Lecturer at Oxford University, and Director of the Social and Political Sciences in the Department for Continuing Education at Oxford. He has held other academic appointments in the UK and USA.
Dr Davies has expertise in multi-method approaches to research and evaluation. He is particularly skilled at designing, undertaking and implementing experimental and quasi-experimental research designs, and integrating them with qualitative research and economic analysis.
Cheryl Gray, Director, Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank
Cheryl Gray, a US National, assumed her current position in November 2007. She manages approximately 85 staff and a large group of consultants whose role is to evaluate the development effectiveness of World Bank projects and programs. IEG is independent and reports directly to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. Ms Gray joined the Bank in 1986 after receiving a PhD and JD from Harvard University and working three years with the Ministry of Finance in Indonesia. Prior to her current assignment, she served as Director, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in the Bank’s Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Vice-Presidency.
Featured speakers
Dr Edwin Clerckx, Director, ADE S.A. Consulting Services
Dr Edwin Clerckx is a Director of ADE, a Belgian consultancy company specialised in evaluation, and manager responsible for its Evaluation Area. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and a complementary degree in economics. He has managed several complex evaluations and studies at EU or international level (among which the Evaluation of the European Commission’s aid delivery through Development Banks and the EIB). Within ADE he works on evaluations in the fields of development cooperation, regional and rural development, information and promotion, innovation, and private sector development. He also participated to the development of Evaluation Guidelines for the Joint Evaluation Unit located in the EuropeAid Co-operation Office of the European Commission, and has made several presentations on evaluation related issues at international conferences.
Dr Stewart Donaldson, Dean & Professor, Claremont Graduate University
Stewart I. Donaldson is Professor and Chair of Psychology, Director of the Institute of Organizational and Program Evaluation Research, and Dean of the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University. He has conducted numerous evaluations, developed one of the largest university-based evaluation training programs, published many evaluation articles and chapters, and his recent books include What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice? (2008; with C. Christie & M. Mark), Program Theory-Driven Evaluation Science: Strategies and Applications (2007), Applied Psychology: New Frontiers and Rewarding Careers (2006; with D. Berger & K. Pezdek), Evaluating Social Programs and Problems: Visions for the New Millennium (2003; with M. Scriven), Social Psychology and Evaluation (forthcoming; with M. Mark & B. Campbell). He is co-founder of the Southern California Evaluation Association and is on the Editorial Boards of the American Journal of Evaluation and New Directions for Evaluation.
Dr Mary Ellsberg, Vice President, Research and Programs, International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW)
Dr. Mary Ellsberg is Vice President for Research and Programs at the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW). She is an epidemiologist with over 15 years of experience in international research violence against women. Dr. Ellsberg is a member of the core research team of the World Health Organization’s Multi-country Study on Domestic Violence and Women’s Health, and a co-author of the UN Secretary General’s In-Depth Study on Violence against Women,. She has authored more than 30 publications on the prevalence and health effects of violence, methodological and ethical aspects of research, and promising practices to end violence against women. She is founding member of the Nicaraguan Network of Women against Violence and the Inter-American Alliance for Gender-based Violence Prevention and Health (InterCambios). Dr. Ellsberg recently co-authored a report for AUSAID on promising practices to address violence against women in Melanesia and East Timor.
Penny Hawkins, Deputy Director / Team Leader – Evaluation, Nzaid
All the presenters work in the evaluation sections of the Australian or New Zealand International Development agencies (AusAID / NZAID). They are involved in the evaluation of official development assistance that focuses on a wide range of programmes and activities in developing countries in different regions of the world.
Dr John Owen, Principal Fellow, Centre for Program Evaluation – The University of Melbourne
John Owen (Dr) is concerned with increasing the utilization of evaluation findings by individuals and organisations. He has been a major contributor to evaluation theory over two decades and is currently Principal Fellow at the Centre for Program Evaluation at Melbourne University and a Fellow of the AES.
Professor Patricia Rogers, Professor of Public Sector Evaluation, CIRCLE at RMIT University
Patricia Rogers is Professor in Public Sector Evaluation at CIRCLE (Collaboration for Interdisciplinary Research, Consulting and Learning in Evaluation), at RMIT University (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), Australia, where she undertakes evaluations and research into evaluation, provides consulting advice, teaches short courses, supervises doctoral students and leads a research program in evidence-based policy and practice. Professor Rogers has worked in public sector evaluation for more than 20 years in Australia, New Zealand and internationally, across a wide range of programs, including agriculture, community development, criminal justice, early childhood, education, Indigenous housing, international development, occupational health and safety, public health, and whole of government. Her work has been recognised by the AES’ Evaluation Training and Services Award for outstanding contributions to the profession of evaluation, the Caulley-Tulloch Prize for Pioneering Literature in Evaluation, and the Best Evaluation Study, and by the American Evaluation Association’s Myrdal Award for Evaluation Practice.
Jerome Winston, Director, Centre for Research and Development in Evaluation, International
Jerome Winston pioneered evaluation in Australia, leading evaluation workshops and seminars since 1975. Jerry founded the Australian Evaluation Network (1978) and the Evaluation Training Network (with Dr. Colin Sharp). In 1979, Jerry developed an innovative graduate course in public sector monitoring and evaluation in Melbourne. His particular interests are the planning and management of monitoring and evaluation, use of systems theory and data analysis in monitoring and evaluation, evaluation of programs by and for indigenous peoples, and the use and misuse of performance measurement systems. Jerry has contributed with colleagues to providing advice to government agencies in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Canada and Zimbabwe. In 2008 he cooperated with regional members of the AES to conduct free evaluation seminars in country Victoria. Jerry is a Fellow of the Australasian Evaluation Society. He is also a member of the Malaysian Evaluation Society.