Evaluation 2026 Proposal Submissions

Our theme for 2026 is “Evaluation Across Boundaries." This explores how evaluators connect ideas, people, sectors, and perspectives to create stronger, more equitable, and more meaningful evaluations. This theme highlights the importance of working across disciplines, cultures, methods, organizations, and even geographical borders. It encourages evaluators to push past traditional silos, collaborate in new ways, and consider diverse viewpoints to tackle complex challenges.

Learn more about the 2026 theme. 

Evaluation 2026 invites proposals that deliver clear, engaging, and practical learning experiences for evaluators across career stages. We seek sessions that help attendees build skills, deepen expertise, exchange ideas, and connect with one another, whether they are new to evaluation or long-time practitioners.

We welcome proposals that:

• offer concrete tools, methods, insights, or approaches that can be applied across contexts
• demonstrate methodological rigor, innovation, or thoughtful reflection on practice
• translate lessons, evidence, or experience into actionable learning
• foster meaningful dialogue, collaboration, and professional connection
• clearly articulate their purpose, intended audience level, and participant engagement strategy
• align with the selected stream and session format

The conference serves attendees with diverse levels of experience in evaluation practice and familiarity with AEA. Proposals should clearly identify the intended audience level and explain why the session content and format are appropriate for that audience.

Evaluation 2026 aims to offer a program that is practical, relevant, inclusive, and forward-looking—supporting both professional learning and community connection. We invite proposals that reflect diverse perspectives, contexts, and communities, and that advance evaluation practice in meaningful ways for both new and returning attendees.

Participation Limits

To create greater access to presentation opportunities and ensure a balanced conference program, AEA will implement the following proposal submission limits for Eval26:

• An individual may be listed as a presenter or discussant on no more than two (2) non-poster proposals submitted to the main conference program.
• There is no limit on poster proposals, 
• This policy does not apply to pre-conference professional development workshops.
• Individuals may be listed as a non-presenting author on additional proposals.

This limit applies at the proposal stage rather than after acceptance to ensure fairness and transparency in the review process and to prevent scheduling and program adjustments after acceptance decisions are made.

If an individual is listed as a presenter or discussant on more than two non-poster proposals at the time of submission, they will be contacted and asked to identify which proposals should be withdrawn from consideration or adjusted (e.g., role changed to “author”) to comply with participation limits. AEA reserves the right to adjust submissions to ensure adherence to this policy.

Information Regarding the Updated Proposal Submission Form

For Evaluation 2026, the proposal submission form has been updated to improve clarity, quality, and transparency in the review process. These updates are intended to support more consistent review decisions, reduce mismatches between expectations and session delivery, and strengthen the overall conference experience.

Session Information That Appears in the Conference Program

The following information in the proposal submission form are required and will appear in the conference program:

• Session title (15 words max): Your title should accurately reflect the content and/or what will occur in the session.
• Session format (select one): As you prepare your proposal, please select the session format that best reflects how you are structuring your session and how you plan for attendees to engage. Read more about session formats on the evaluation conference website. 
• Session stream (select one): In the past, proposals have been submitted to individual TIGs. Proposals will now be submitted to one of five streams, defined by functional and professional interests within the evaluation field. Read more about streams on the evaluation conference website.
• Session summary (150 words max): Provide a concise description of your proposed session, including its central focus, why it matters to evaluation practice or the field, and the audience for whom it is designed. This summary should explain what participants can expect from attending and help them determine whether the session aligns with their interests and experience level.
• Participant outcomes (3 maximum): List up to 3 bullets that will explain what participants will gain from the session. Use clear, observable verbs (e.g., apply, analyze, design, interpret). Avoid vague terms unless clearly specified.
• List of presenters and authors: Note that this information is NOT presented to reviewers to allow for a double-blind review process. However, this information is needed to ensure alignment with participation limits and will be listed in the program.

Additional Session Information to Inform Reviewers