FestEVAL21 opening: three provocations
Channel: Australian Evaluation Society
Date: 2021-09-13

Three leading thinkers in the field of evaluation provide us with provocative presentations to kickstart FestEVAL. These presentations bring local and international perspectives to stimulate thinking about evaluation in the current environment, how we need to reconsider our practice, and the role of evaluation in supporting good decision-making.

Skye Trudgett: It is not progress, it is not data sovereignty and it is not self-determination when 'they' ram down your throat patriarchal evaluation practice, then seek out your black tick.

Margaret Crawford: Audit, evaluation & accountability - what is the relationship and what does it mean for evaluation practice?

Mary Abdo: The view from here: evidence and evaluation in Asia. Mary will discuss the state of evaluation in Asia, with a particular focus on the changing state of how interventions are conceived and measured in philanthropy and what we can learn from this in Australia.

Skye Trudgett is a proud mother and First Nations woman who is currently completing a PhD in Indigenous Data Sovereignty and models of care for high risk young people, at the University of NSW. Additionally she is the CEO of Kowa and Blak Impact Lead at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern. Skye is an experienced social researcher and evaluator. Skye has contributed to numerous research and evaluation projects including place-based, collective impact and government initiatives. Skye has a particular interest in Indigenous data sovereignty and governance, and grounds these principles within her work. She brings a unique approach to evaluation which considers sustainable First Nations governance and community and individual defined and led concepts.

Margaret Crawford commenced as the Auditor-General of New South Wales in April 2016. She has many years’ experience as a senior executive across large, complex public sector organisations – local, state and the Commonwealth governments – including the Victorian Department of Human Services, the Australian Taxation Office, the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority and Australia's largest local government, Brisbane City Council. Before becoming Auditor-General, she held the position of Deputy Secretary at the NSW Department of Family and Community Services.
Margaret has worked across a diverse range of sectors, including housing and homelessness, community and disability services, road transport policy and regulation, taxation administration and gaming regulation and currently holds the position of Auditor-General for New South Wales.

Mary Abdo is the Managing Director of the Centre for Evidence and Implementation in Singapore. She has lived in Asia since 2012, supporting organisations to develop strategies and capture innovations that generate impact across more than 25 countries. Her clients have included governments, foundations, impact investors, non-profits, multilateral donors, and educational institutions. In her role with CEI, Mary supports organisations to maximise the impact of the programs they fund, including through evaluation, evidence synthesis, and effective implementation.