Our theme for 2025 is “Engaging Community, Sharing Leadership." Shared leadership approaches create an environment where communities can grow, learn, and innovate to improve outcomes. This approach can be challenging to introduce to stable environments versus volatile or complex environments, but if done successfully, evaluators can empower communities with the tools to thrive as they walk into the future.
Learn more about the 2025 theme.
Submit Proposal
We are looking for a dynamic variety of presentations to meet the diverse needs of the AEA members. Presentation types include panel discussions, expert lectures, roundtables, skill-building workshops, and more.
The AEA conference includes a wide range of topics - from evaluation results to new theories, to practical skill-building for day-to-day practice. Audiences consist of evaluators, evaluation managers, and other stakeholders. To reach that broad audience, strong content should (1) match the title and proposal printed in the program, and (2) follow an action-oriented structure. Structure your content so that it prioritizes the information most relevant for AEA audiences and provides suggested time allotments.
We encourage you to think creatively about your presentations, design, and format. Please choose the presentation type that best fits your material and utilizes your content in the greatest way. Skill-building workshops, panel discussions, demonstrations, and expert lectures continue to be the most popular session types at the annual conference.
Full Session Proposals:
The following proposals are submitted for full concurrent session slots in breakout rooms at the conference.
Expert Lecture: Expert Lectures are formal presentations by an expert in the field who will share conceptual or methodological innovations through a lecture followed by a response to audience questions.
Demonstrations: Demonstrations are formal presentations that show how to use or apply an evaluation concept or tool. These sessions differ from Skill-Building Workshops, which provide a hands-on experience.
Multi-paper Sessions: Multi-paper sessions include up to four paper presentations on a common theme. Each paper presenter will have approximately 15 minutes to present and discuss the key points of his or her work.
Panel: This formal, thematic presentation focuses on an issue facing the field of evaluation. The overall abstract is to provide a coordinated presentation by two or three panelists, and possibly a discussant, on the general topic of the panel.
Skill-Building Workshop: Skill-building workshops teach a specific skill needed by many evaluators and include one or more exercises that let attendees practice using this skill. These sessions differ from Demonstrations in that attendees will have a hands-on opportunity to practice the skill.
Think Tank: A Think Tank is a session focusing on a topic or question and includes the audience in the discussion. A chairperson orients attendees to the topic or question and relevant context and then facilitates meaningful discussion.
Slotted Presentation Proposals:
The following proposals are submitted for inclusion in a larger session or reception at the conference.
Birds of a Feather: Birds of a Feather sessions are relatively small and informal gatherings designed to build networks and explore ideas. Rather than give a formal presentation, facilitators will prepare questions or ideas around a particular topic for you to discuss. Birds of a Feather presentations take place over a lunch hour at tables in a reception hall.
Ignite Presentations: These presentations are five minutes long, consisting of 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. These presentations are given in rapid succession, one following another - and can be extremely fun! During an hour-long Ignite session, you can see up to 11 presentations on a variety of topics.
Paper: Papers presentations should outline what topic and key points a submitter would like to present at the conference. They may be accepted for 15-minute presentation slots in a Multi-paper session, as Ignite presentations, or as Poster presentations.
Poster: Accepted poster abstracts will be given a reserved slot to hang their poster in the exhibit hall during a reception at the conference. Poster authors will be granted the opportunity to stand with their poster during the reception to discuss their presentation with other attendees.
Pre-Conference Workshop Proposals:
The following proposals are submitted for presentation in the days leading up to the conference.
Professional Development Workshops: Professional Development (PD) Workshops are great learning opportunities that provide attendees with in-depth lessons, hands-on learning, group activities, and real-world case studies. These workshops take place before the conference officially kicks off
Professional Development (PD) Workshops are great learning opportunities that provide attendees with in-depth lessons, group activities, and real-world case studies. These full-day and half-day workshops take place prior to the conference and allow a limited number of attendees in order to replicate a classroom environment. PD workshop submissions are reviewed by the Professional Development Working Group and selected presenters receive a small stipend for their efforts.
We encourage you to consider the 2025 theme and think creatively when submitting your workshop proposal.
Professional Development workshop submissions will be reviewed by multiple workshop reviewers. The criteria used for review are the following – Viability (content maps to suggested learning from members and participant surveys), Relevance (aligns with AEA’s professional competencies, values and AEA current events/issues), Trainer (prior experience presenting with AEA, displayed experience teaching for other organizations, demonstrable positive feedback from previous workshop execution) and Instructional Engagement (proposed submission maps to adult learning principles, promotes in class interactivity with the course material).
See the full list of associated TIG leaders here.
We want your proposal to connect to the AEA Guiding Principles and the AEA Evaluator Competencies. The Guiding Principles reflect the core values of AEA and are intended as a guide to th ence professional ethical conduct of evaluators. Keep these principles in mind when developing your proposals. When submitting your proposal, you will be asked to choose one or two principles that are related to your topic or proposal. Learn more about the AEA Guiding Principles.
DEADLINE: Proposal Submissions must be received by 11:59 PM ET on Friday, March 7, 2025.
You must create a new account to submit a proposal. This site is not associate with your AEA account.