ANZEA Conference 2022

The theme of this conference, taken from a well-known Māori whakataukī, Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua acknowledges the past, while at the same time encouraging us to walk into the future being genuinely aware of that past.

For those of us with some longevity in the profession, the theme compels us to think about how our early experiences, former practices, and previous achievements as evaluators and how these might inform and shape the profession of evaluation into the future.

In this presentation I will reflect on a quarter century of working in the fields of evaluation and research. Change has been a constant theme underpinning my work, however the scale of change we have witnessed in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last two years has been both significant and comprehensive. For Māori, the impacts of these changes on our community and our whānau are still being understood. What then, can we as evaluators and researchers contribute to the nations’ need to analyse, comprehend and learn from this change? What lessons can we take from the past which will allow us to stand united in an authentic partnership to meet the challenges of the future? What is our role as evaluators and researchers in that future, and what is the legacy we “oldies” leave for those new and emerging evaluators who will take up our mantle?

In this address I will provide a glimpse into what I have learned, what I might have done differently, who and what shaped my experiences as an evaluator/researcher. I conclude with the view that the skill of evaluative thinking and the theory, practice and profession of evaluation remains critical for our nation today but perhaps even more so as we look forward into an unknown future.