Lead Editor and Co-Author, A/Prof. Amy Gullickson "Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 24, No 4, 2024"
AERC is proud to acknowledge Amy Gullickson's work as lead editor and co-author on all articles in the recent issue of the Australasian Journal of Evaluation.
Volume 24 Issue 4, December 2024
Editorial
As global demand for evaluation grows, advancing professional development through self-reflection and collaboration is essential for strengthening evaluation systems. The Learn Evaluation Assessment Portal (LEAP) was developed by a multidisciplinary team of academics and organisations, including the Australian Evaluation Society (AES), to address this need. LEAP supports evaluators in self-assessing their competencies, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and promoting collaboration and innovation within the field. By providing a tool that maps individual and organisational expertise, LEAP contributes to research on evaluators’ skills and learning needs, helping shape more targeted training pathways. Evaluators who complete their self-assessment and consent to share data also contribute to research aimed at enhancing professional development and evaluation capacity globally.
This Special Issue explores the development and application of LEAP and its role in advancing the professionalisation of evaluation. It features four articles that examine critical aspects of self-assessment tools and competency frameworks, including their practical applications, challenges, and benefits. Topics include the creation and piloting of LEAP, insights from its implementation using the AES Competency Framework, a critique of the framework’s theoretical underpinnings, and its integration into graduate education. Together, these articles highlight the value of tools like LEAP in capacity building and fostering evaluators’ knowledge, skills, and values. With its ability to incorporate competency frameworks from various contexts, LEAP has become a vital resource for organisations worldwide, including government and professional associations, to enhance the evaluation profession and meet stakeholders' evolving needs.
The Evaluation Journal of Australasia ISSN 1035-719X is a publication of the Australian Evaluation Society published quarterly in March, June, September, and December.
AES Members can access the journal via the AES website www.aes.asn.au/eja. This special edition is also freely accessible via SAGE as an Open Access publication. Evaluation Journal of Australasia: Sage Journals
Contents Volume 24 | No 4 | DECEMBER 2024
EDITORIAL
Evaluator competencies and self-assessment: Lessons from the Learn Evaluation Assessment Portal
Lauren Wildschut, Amy M Gullickson
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Making the Learn Evaluation Assessment Portal: Developing a reciprocal tool for learning and research
Lauren Wildschut, Amy M Gullickson, Sarah Mason
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Moving from guideline to measure to findings: The Australian Evaluation Society and the Learn Evaluation Assessment Portal
Amy M Gullickson, Taimur Siddiqi, Delyth Lloyd, Anne Stephens, George Argyrous, Lauren Wildschut
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Framing the future: Exploring the values that underpin the Australian Evaluation Society’s Evaluators’ Professional Learning Competencies
Will Domvo, Amy M Gullickson, Lauren Wildschut
Practice Article
Evaluative attitude in action: Using the Learn Evaluation Assessment Portal in graduate education
Amy M Gullickson, Shin Tanabe, Erin R Davis, Jane L Howard, Sarah Gonzalez