The Indigenous Evaluation Network convened its inaugural Indigenous Evaluation Summit online on February 22-23, 2024. The event fostered the emergence of creative and enthusiastic energies aimed at bolstering the practice and methodologies of Indigenous evaluation. The summit marked a significant milestone in advancing Indigenous evaluation practices, signalling a renewed commitment to enhancing research methodologies and evaluation frameworks. This historic event promises to impact Indigenous evaluation and its practitioners.
A new fire is lit.
The Summit united 220 evaluators and program staff to share their experiences with evaluation practices. It hosted a significant cultural component to honour Elders and Drum Groups from the four directions for the opening and closing ceremonies and blessings. Elders and Knowledge Holders also sat with us to unpack Indigenous cultural knowledge about evaluation. The Summit gathered further guidance on the contributions evaluation can make to programs and community decision-making by sharing knowledge and planning for the future.
Testimonies
We took some time to debrief on our take aways and experiences from the Summit and we wanted to send you this note to let you know that the Summit was truly inspirational! From the incredible keynote speaker (Dan George) through to the breakout rooms and the networking events, this Summit was by far the best conference we have attended.
We were deeply honored that you asked Workforce Warriors to be a part of the presentations and moderation activities. Knowing the incredible talent in the rooms and the strong voices and experience of those in attendance, we are humbled by the experience and so proud to have been part of this historic event.
We look forward to continuing our journey with the IEN and are excited to see the next steps of this Network come together.
Karen, Karen & Tanna – Workforce Warriors Inc.
I had the pleasure of attending the summit as a member of the Evaluation Capacity Network (ECN) team. I found the summit to be incredibly valuable, and I learned a lot from the experiences and insights shared by the other participants.
Nashid Rahman – University of Alberta student
Dear Pat & Andrea,
Congratulations to you both, and the planning committee, on a beautiful, energizing, and productive gathering last week! It was an honour and privilege to be involved. Pat, you are such a gracious and skilled facilitator, I hope that I didn’t take too much space in my enthusiasm to contribute!
I’m really pleased also that my colleague Nichole L’Hirondelle also found it so valuable, both personally and professionally – she is eager to be a member of the network right away, as an Indigenous person who works on programs with communities, and supports other First Nation, Inuit and Metis program staff. As a member of the management team at United for Literacy, it really means a lot to be able to support her connection to this network, for her growth and well-being as a staff member, and for organizational learning.
Angela Briscoe – Director, Government Relations, United for Literacy
Just a quick note to say the evaluation summit was great! Everything was well-organized, and the information was really helpful.
Nanor Rita Hamamdjian, MPH – Planning, Programming and Research Officer, Cree Health
The Indigenous Evaluation Network is looking for private sector sponsors to help achieve the goals of the network and summit. In sponsoring the inaugural Indigenous Evaluation Summit, your organization benefits by:
- Informing your internal/external procurement policies,
- Implementing your reconciliation strategies, and
- Informing your understanding of Indigenous Peoples while supporting Indigenous evaluation methods.
The Indigenous Evaluation Summit is the first summit held in Canada on Indigenous evaluation led by and for Indigenous Peoples. Truth and Reconciliation Canada Calls to Action is a national voice to support communities in mastering new skill sets that will benefit their community membership.