IAP2 Australasian Symposium
"EVALUATE 08" Measuring the Effectiveness of Community Engagement:-
Have you got it pegged?
Too busy doing community engagement to measure its success?
Often wondered whether or not community engagement is making a difference?
Want to evaluate your work but don’t know how?
If so, then this is the conference for you.
The International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) is hosting a 2-day Symposium in Adelaide on 9 and 10 October on this year’s hot topic of evaluation.
Evaluate 08 will explore:
- New methods for evaluating community engagement programs
- Techniques to capture “hard data”
- Common downfalls in community engagement
- Ways to improve community engagement practice
Speakers have been drawn from around the world, and will discuss:
- Werribee Plains’ Waterwatch evaluation
- Brisbane City Council’s evaluation framework and toolkit
- The emerging field of citizen journalism
Evaluate 08 will also feature a gala dinner and ceremony to announce this year’s IAP2 Australasian award winners.
What can you expect from the Symposium?
Progressive businesses and service organisations have an interest in measuring performance. The ability to measure community engagement is important to organisations that rely on positive outcomes to secure funding for their future endeavours. Individuals are expected to produce results to guarantee future employment and promotion. It is fundamental to the IAP2 practitioner Code of Ethics to enhance the role of the public in aspects of the decision making process.
The Programme
Participants can expect to be involved in the practical and theoretical aspects of evaluation in community engagement. Linking quality improvement to the learning needs of an organisation will be explored, as will the involvement of the public in the evaluation process more generally.
Breakout sessions will provide opportunities for interaction with other participants. Some sessions will be repeated to provide you with more than one chance to attend. Case studies will be explored in Study Circles scattered throughout the elegant Adelaide Town Hall. Keynote speakers and a diverse group of presenters will introduce diversity to the program to cater to a range of expectations and experience among the participants.
Evaluating as we go
Evaluate 08 will include interactive sessions designed to present community engagement evaluation in a stimulating and inspiring manner. An entertaining activity will be used throughout the program to demonstrate evaluation in action. The conference organisers are keen to promote the value of integrating evaluation throughout the process so that it is not left as an afterthought.
Core Values Awards
The IAP2 Core Values Awards 2008 will be presented at the Gala Dinner in the spectacular main auditorium of the Adelaide Town Hall. The main feature of the auditorium is a magnificent organ built in Brandon, Suffolk, England and installed in the Auditorium in 1989. It lends itself perfectly to a “Rocky Horror” theme for the Gala event. |
