Last week we officially launched the new Eval Central (a.k.a. the FreshSpectrum Community of Practice).
For the launch on Thursday, September 18, we had a simple evaluation resource sharing session. It was a really nice gathering with 30-ish evaluators joining from across the globe (from the west coast of the US & Canada to Pakistan).
If you’re a member of the Community (which is free by the way) you’ll find a link to the recording in my email from September 22, 2025, even if you didn’t register for the session.
Here is a recap of all the shared resources.
Equity and Data
We All Count runs weekly Friday webinars on data equity topics. Heather Krause, a quantitative statistician, leads sessions that show how to add equity into work that many think is just technical. The sessions are recorded and available for a year to paid participants. Recent topics included indigenous statistics and using cartoons in public health. Link: https://weallcount.com/talking-data-equity/
Expanding the Bench helps build culturally responsive evaluation practices. The site provides tools and instruments that evaluators can use without having to create everything from scratch. One community member found it especially helpful as the only evaluator in her organization. Link: https://expandingthebench.org/
Tammy Baart’s work from Australia offers practical resources on allyship and avoiding tokenism. One of our evaluators who works with First Nations communities, found Baart’s concrete approach very helpful. Link: https://www.blakignited.com.au/
Engagement and Participation
Liberating Structures provides unique ways to bring people with different perspectives together in conversation. One of our members uses these methods to structure interviews, focus groups, and workshops. The resource is completely free online and includes videos showing how to use the activities. Link: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/
Innovator’s Compass is another visual tool shared for helping clients understand their needs better or when programs get stuck. Link: https://innovatorscompass.org/
Practical Tools and Methods
Harvard’s Ideas Impact Framework was shared by one of our non-profit evaluators. Her organization uses this theory of change process to slowly work with different teams to understand what they do and what outcomes they hope to achieve. Link: https://ideas.developingchild.harvard.edu/theory-of-change/
Matter of Focus offers a UK-based approach to outcomes mapping with question headings that help people understand what needs measuring at a more human level. Link: https://www.matter-of-focus.com/using-our-headings/
Learning and Development
AEA365 Blog publishes a new evaluation-focused blog post every day, offering ongoing learning opportunities. Link: https://aea365.org/blog/
EvalYouth connects young and emerging evaluators to projects around the world. Link: https://evalyouth.org/
Gladys Rowe’s Podcast features conversations with Indigenous evaluators. Link: https://www.gladysrowe.com/podcast
Additional Resources
Business Illustrator cartoons for systems change and evaluation concepts Link: https://www.businessillustrator.com/author/admin/
Better Evaluation’s collection of evaluation-focused journals Link: https://www.betterevaluation.org/methods-approaches/methods/evaluation-journals
White Supremacy Culture online book for equity work addressing organizational challenges Link: https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/comfort–fear-of-conflict.html
Evaluation parody of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” for some end-of-day entertainment Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyBoDzbHwQA
Join us next time!
Personally, I came away from the session energized. For me there is nothing quite like speaking with a bunch of super smart and committed evaluators. I have more sessions in the works right now, so if you’re not already getting my email newsletter, join us.
And if you want to see a list of upcoming sessions as well as a place to submit your own presentation idea, visit the CoP page.
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