Testimonials

"The CESEF award was instrumental to my evaluation learning and growth this year. I am very grateful to the CESEF for this award." Jenna van Draanen, Educational Assistance Award Recipient, 2014

"I kindly thank CESEF for their generous support. Without this award, this dissemination of research, and professional and scholarly training would not have been possible." Kateryna Svensson, Educational Assistance Award Recipient, 2014

"Well the most important thing to say is thank you! The award helped me purchase a membership for the CES. I am now a member which is helping me to keep updated in the evaluation issues. I can attend some of the evaluation professional development opportunities for free; I can participate in the Lunch and Learn events also. I receive the weekly newsletters which are also contributing to my professional growth. This award contributed also to pay for my course tuitions which is high considering that I don’t have a job yet."Houda Sabra, , Carleton University, Educational Assistance Award Recipient, 2013

"I am honored to be a recipient of the CESEF Education Award. This award helped me to attend a workshop that provided me with a wealth of knowledge on how to improve my new independent evaluation consulting business. I plan to transfer this knowledge into my practice, which allows me to continue to learn and grow as a novice evaluator. Thank you!" Elayne Vlahaki, Educational Assistance Award Recipient, 2013

"I am honoured to be a recipient of the CESEF Award. As a fairly new CES member, this award helps me cover the cost of the ROI course. On a deeper level it confirms that I made a wise decision to move into training evaluation. I intend to build on my this knowledge to develop my new business, and seek opportunities to share my expertise with the evaluation community, clients and others. Thanks." Karen Carleton, Educational Assistance Award Recipient, 2011

"I was thrilled to have been selected as honourary mention for the CESEF/CES SEEK Award and grateful for the financial support provided to attend the 2011 CES conference. As an evaluation student and novice evaluator, it was reaffirming to have my work recognized by the Canadian evaluation community. I greatly appreciated that many evaluators took the opportunity to come and speak with me at the conference about my interests and their own work. One of the conference highlights for me was the opportunity to be introduced to Jennifer Greene, whose work I greatly admire. The support provided to me by CESEF and the CES ensured that this conference was a uniquely enriching experience. Thank you!" Dorothy Pinto, SEEK Honourable Mention, 2011

"Like many in my field, I am an accidental evaluator; there was a need for resources on an evaluation project and since I had some time, the file came to me. As a quick study and thanks to a patient mentor, I picked up the basics to get the job, and many comparable jobs, done and done well. This practical experience did not answer my questions about how and why certain elements in evaluation linked together so I enrolled in Carleton University’s Diploma in Program Evaluation. Through these courses, the finer details and theories behind the practice became apparent which increased not only my awareness of the intricacies of evaluation, but also the flexibility and range possible to apply them. The Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund (CESEF) award not only eased the financial load of tuition fees and books, the recognition from my fellow evaluators was very encouraging. As I learn and grow as an evaluator, so will my ongoing professional development in evaluation for myself and my support and encouragement for it among my peers." Eleanor Toews, Senior Evaluator, Service Canada

"At the time I applied for the CESEF Educational Assistance Award, I was mid-through on my way to completing the graduate certificate in Program Evaluation at University of Ottawa. The courses already taken were mostly theoretical approaches, so at that point, I strongly felt the urge to apply all past knowledge gathered along the way, on more practical issues. Fortunately, University of Ottawa offers this course named “Applied Research in Social Interventions”, which made a real difference to me. I conducted a “real evaluation” in “real life”, under the support of my professor, therefore ensuring that all the steps taken were appropriate and technically rigorous. So I can definitely say that receiving the CESEF Educational Assistance Award helped me achieve my education needs and further my work in evaluation." Hélène Léopoldoff, Education Assistance Award Recipient, 2011

"I am grateful to have received the CESEF/CES SEEK Award because it provided an opportunity to further examine, articulate and share the work I have been doing as a student in the field of evaluation at the Faculty of Education, Queen’s University. Evaluation projects and research on evaluation are important areas in the field of education. We are working with increasing levels of accountability, which need to be balanced with our respect for diversity and our goals of inclusion. My PhD work uses arts-informed processes to document and explore the possibilities of art as a catalyst within an evaluation project. The field of evaluation is full of methodological innovation and receiving the SEEK award allowed me to attend the recent CES conference to not only share this work on art-informed thinking, but to be reminded of the many diverse contributions that evaluators are making to the field. It is an exciting time to be a student in the field of evaluation! By interacting with other, more experienced evaluators I am able to learn from and recognize the exceptional work happening within the field of evaluation; I am further motivated to continue considering the values, methods and uses of multiple forms of evaluation." Michelle Searle, SEEK Award Winner, 2011

"I was honoured to win the 2010 SEEK award. The new award format actually made this a relatively easy submission as it was based on my existing class work. And yet the benefits were many. To begin, I was able to attend the CES conference in Victoria and take in a variety of sessions from experts in the field. There I also presented my paper and enjoyed honing my ideas further through stimulating conversations with interested others. The award also provided me a chance to submit an article for automatic consideration in the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation. Having been successful through the peer review process, I now have added a journal article to my name. What began as a simple class assignment has grown in reach and impact." Rich Janzen, SEEK Award Winner, 2010

"The Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund (CESEF) award not only eased the financial load of tuition fees and books, the recognition from my fellow evaluators was very encouraging. As I learn and grow as an evaluator, so will my ongoing professional development in evaluation for myself and my support and encouragement for it among my peers."