Over the last several months, the Local Arrangements Working Group has been blogging at AEA365. One of ways evaluators can get ready for the upcoming annual conference is to read what the LAWG has to say about the conference. This year, the conference is once again in Denver. AEA was in Denver in 2008. Be forewarned–Denver is the mile high city. The air is rarefied and very dry. It may snow!

The LAWG has a lot to say about the conference and there are A LOT of links in these posts that are worth checking.  For those who have not been to AEA before or for those who have recently embraced evaluation, reading their posts are a wealth of information, as is the AEA website.

I will be presenting at two sessions this year–one on blogging (duh…) and one on capacity building. I see them related. I will also (like last year) be assisting with a professional development session (number 25) with my long time friend and colleague, Jim Altschuld. The professional development session occurs on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 from 8:00am MT – 3:00pm MT. It is titled Practical Ways to Link Needs Assessment (NA) with Asset/Capacity Building. (Just a little advertisement 🙂 ) It will draw from his new book, Bridging the Gap Between Asset/Capacity Building and Needs Assessment.

He is also the editor of the Needs Assessment Kit   . If you do not have it on your shelf, you probably need it; if you do, you need to read it. Needs assessment is the first evaluative step that can be conducted and rarely is prior to a program’s implementation. The nuances of a NA depending on the venue (public, private, independent) are important. Altschuld and his co-editor Ryan Watkins just finished a New Directions in Evaluation volume on needs assessment. They asked their chapter authors to take various aspects of NA and write about them. It was very enlightening.

Now back to the meeting in Denver. The meeting wouldn’t happen without the input from the LAWG. They do the advance work of gathering (and evaluating) information about what is happening in Denver, where to eat, and what to do. I know you say–I’ll be attending the meeting–why do I need to know what to do? Do more than just attend the meeting. You all are grown-ups and can make choices. You have free will–one of the most unique aspects of humon. Although there is a wealth of information at the meeting, there is a wealth of information in being in a new place, even if you were there in 2008! And it is in the front range of the Rocky Mountains!

Every year, AEA has a cadre of LA folks who do an absolutely amazing job preparing evaluators for the conference. This year is no different.

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