Special Edition: October 2014 News from Community Science

SPECIAL EDITION: October 2014 SPOTLIGHT ON: AEA 2014: Visionary Evaluation for a Sustainable, Equitable Future Community Science attends the 28th Annual Conference of the American Evaluation Association From October 15-18, the American Evaluation Association will hold its 28th annual conference in Denver, Colorado at the Hyatt Regency and the Colorado Convention Center and Community Science will be well-represented! Please review the presentations and panel descriptions below and plan to join our colleagues who are participating in these sessions. For an overview of the conference, please click here to visit the main website. TIG Business Meeting: Disaster & Emergency Management Evaluation, Making Sense of Chaos: The State of Disaster and Emergency Management Evaluation Thursday, October 16, 2014 7:15 PM to 8:45 PM Community Science Associate Brandi Gilbert, Ph.D. will chair this TIG Business Meeting that brings together representatives from state, local, and international organizations working in the field of disaster and emergency management evaluation. Presentations will cover considerations for evaluation of the humanitarian industry, trends in value for money ratios, working with minimal resources, and the impact of fewer drills and exercises on evaluating disaster readiness. The group will discuss the future of the field, and share recommendations for applying the many skills, perspectives, and experience inherent in this interdisciplinary arena. Human Services Evaluation Track Roundtable  Wednesday, October 15, 2014 6:15 PM to 7:00 PM Jaehyun Julia Lee, Ph.D., will co-facilitate this roundtable discussion entitled "Keep in touch!" -- Reaching and staying in touch with hard-to-reach evaluation participants over time while meeting budget and time restraints. Dr. Lee, a Managing Associate at Community Science, will share specific examples from working with refugees in the United States, including the challenges faced and expertise gained from on the ground experiences related to connecting with refugee participants, and maintaining contact with them over time. The roundtable presenters will pose questions to discuss best practices involving hard-to-reach evaluation participants under budget and time restraints. Health Evaluation Panel Saturday, October 18, 2014 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Community Science Vice President and Principal Associate Kien S. Lee, Ph.D. will serve as the Discussant at this session entitled Measuring Capacity and Community Change: Evaluating a Comprehensive Community Initiative to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity. She will be joined by colleagues Brandi Gilbert, Ph.D., and Margaret Paek, M.P.H., who will present the evaluation findings from a project implemented by the Institute for Public Health Innovation -- Transforming Prince George's County Communities (TPGCC), an initiative that applies a range of strategies to improve the health of community residents. Presentations will describe the methods used and the challenges of balancing strategy-level evaluation efforts with large-scale and long-term impact evaluation in a relatively short time period. The group will discuss key measures, including collaboration and impact of the Food Equity Council (FEC); increased availability and accessibility of produce through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and double value coupon program (DVCP) geared toward low-income residents; and increased cross-sector collaboration and community capacity to address barriers to recreational opportunities. The findings from this work provide insight into strengths and challenges of evaluation processes that can inform future assessments of public health initiatives designed to change the built environments.  In This Issue Disaster & Emergency Management Evaluation Human Services Evaluation Health Evaluation Panel Join Us! Any one of our associates attending the AEA conference would welcome an opportunity to talk about working at Community Science. Please visit their sessions or seek them out for an exploratory conversation. We are currently recruiting for the following positions: Senior Associate in Community Change Research & Practice (Washington, DC)   Managing Associate in Research & Capacity Building  (Washington, DC) Analyst for Research & Capacity Building (Washington, DC)    To learn more about each position, or apply now, visit  the Community Science CAREERS page.       About Community Science Community Science is an award winning research and development organization that works with governments, foundations, and non-profit organizations on solutions to social problems through community and other systems changes. To learn more, visit our PROJECTS page.  To discuss how Community Science can collaborate with your organization, contact us at 301-519-0722 or info@communityscience.com Community Science | 301-519-0722 | info@communityscience.com | http://www.communityscience.com 438 N. Frederick Ave. Suite 315 Gaithersburg, MD 20878 Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.