“You never know who you're going to meet in your career and who will inspire you to learn new things and pick up a new trade.”
Blowing Bubbles: A Guide to the 2025 Australian Evaluation Conference
Kim Grey & Ruth Nicholls
About this episode
Join Matt and Tenille for an exclusive behind-the-scenes chat with Kim Grey and Ruth Nicholls, the co-conveners of the 2025 Australian Evaluation Conference in Canberra. Discover what's in store when the evaluation community gathers from 15-19 September under the theme "Beyond the Bubble", exploring the four sub-themes of Foundations, Connecting, Cultivating, and Transforming. Kim and Ruth share their thinking on keynote speakers, sessions they're excited about, and why the magic of evaluation conferences lies in unexpected connections.
Key takeaways
Beyond the Bubble means pushing past comfort zones
The theme invites evaluators to step outside their regular spaces, examine their assumptions, and democratise evaluation discussions.
Evaluation is more than its methods
The conference emphasises understanding the knowledge systems, worldviews, and frameworks that shape how we apply evaluation approaches.
Connection is the hidden value
The corridor conversations, coffee queue chats, and informal discussions are often where the most transformative learning happens.
Four sub-themes guide the program
Foundations (knowing where we've come from), Connecting (being more inclusive), Cultivating (growing the profession), and Transforming (looking to the future, including AI ethics).
Stay flexible at conferences
First-time attendees should set personal learning goals but remain open to following a new friend to their next session. The unexpected connections can be just as valuable as the planned agenda.
Topics covered
- Evaluation conferences
- Australian Evaluation Society
- Professional development
- Evaluation community
- Theory-based evaluation
- Indigenous evaluation
- AI and ethics