Topical Interest Groups (TIGs)

Annual Topical Interest Groups Meetings

Each Topical Interest Group (TIG) will hold a virtual meeting following Evaluation 2026 with a select few holding an additional meeting in-person! All attendees are welcome to join these meetings and learn more about the year-long initiatives of each TIG.

These meetings offer an informal opportunity to meet and network with TIG members and partake in top-of-mind discussions. TIG Virtual Meetings are an excellent community and discovery experience for AEA members, new and seasoned. Registration is required for most TIG Facilitated Meetings and for all AEA Facilitated Meetings.

About TIGs

The Topical Interest Groups are the heart and soul of AEA. Each TIG is defined around a special topic or interest and creates a forum whereby each member's knowledge, experience, and skills can become a resource that the entire community can leverage. TIGs serve many roles for AEA, including: reviewing proposals for the annual conference, curating the vast learnings submitted, and expertly connecting the education to the conference theme.

More than anything, TIGs are valuable in bringing together AEA’s diverse membership to make a large association feel like home.

Joining a TIG is an exclusive AEA member benefit and is your ticket to a community of experts who share similar backgrounds and work settings. Through TIGs, members have access to a network of professionals for collaboration on ideas and practices and a well of invaluable knowledge on topic areas of interest.

Your participation is based on your availability, and no specific obligation is associated with your TIG membership. Being active in a TIG allows you to increase your depth of knowledge in a specific area as well as gain leadership opportunities. Some TIGs are very active with vibrant online discussion lists, resource websites, and special networking events, while others focus their efforts on the AEA annual conference.

Join a TIG and Get the Most of Your AEA Membership!

LEARN HOW >

AEA members are allowed to join any of the 55 Topical Interest Groups. Joining a TIG is easy and can be managed here. Simply log in and join the TIGs that best suit your interests.

Not a member? Join today to gain access to your fellow evaluation colleagues.

Lastly, should you ever have questions regarding TIGs, we’re here to help! Don’t hesitate to contact AEA Headquarters at info@eval.org for guidance around TIGs. 

Topical Interest Group (TIG) Annual Meeting Schedule

Virtual Meetings (All times in ET)

Date Time (ET) TIGs

Monday, November 2

1:00 p.m.

Graduate Students and New Evaluators

Tuesday, November 3

TBD

Arts, Culture, and Museums

  2:30 p.m.

Cluster, Multi-site and Multi-level Evaluation

Wednesday, November 4

2:00 p.m.

Behavioral Health

  4:00 p.m.

Human Services Evaluation

  4:00 p.m.

Internal Evaluation

Thursday, November 5 11:00 a.m.

Use and Influence of Evaluation

  12:00 p.m.

Nonprofit and Foundations

  1:00 p.m.

Social Work

  2:00 p.m.

Systems in Evaluation

  3:00 p.m.

Youth Focused Evaluation

  3:00 p.m.

University-Based Centers

  3:30 p.m.

Qualitative Methods

  4:30 p.m.

Mixed Methods Evaluation

Friday, November 6 12:00 p.m.

Translational Research Evaluation

  1:00 p.m.

Research, Technology & Development Evaluation

  1:00 p.m.

Needs Assessment

  1:00 p.m.

Teaching of Evaluation

  2:00 p.m.

Health Evaluation

  3:00 p.m.

Research on Evaluation

Monday, November 9 10:00 a.m.

International and Cross Cultural Evaluation

  TBD

College Access Programs

  3:00 p.m.

Social Network Analysis

  4:00 p.m.

Environmental Program Evaluation

Tuesday, November 10 12:00 p.m.

Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation

  12:00 p.m.

Independent Consulting

  TBD

Data Visualization and Reporting

  3:00 p.m.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer+ Voices in Evaluation

  4:00 p.m.

Social Finance

  5:00 p.m.

Evaluation Managers and Supervisors

Wednesday, November 11 3:00 p.m.

Higher Education

  5:00 p.m.

Leadership and Organizational Performance

Thursday, November 12 12:30 p.m.

Program Theory and Theory-Driven Evaluation

  1:00 p.m.

Educational Evaluation

  1:00 p.m.

Advocacy and Policy Change

  1:00 p.m.

Multiethnic Issues in Evaluation

  4:00 p.m.

Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation

  4:00 p.m.

STEM Education and Training

  TBD

Disabilities and Underrepresented Populations

Monday, November 16 1:30 p.m.

Democracy and Governance

Thursday, November 19 TBD

Costs, Effectiveness Benefits, and Economics

  TBD

Quantitative Methods: Theory and Design

Friday, November 20 12:15 p.m.

Government Evaluation

  TBD

Integrating Technology into Evaluation

  TBD

LatinX Responsive Evaluation Discourse

Monday, November 23 12:00 p.m. Organizational Learning & Evaluation Capacity Building

 

In-Person Meetings (All times in ET)

 

Date Time (ET) TIGs
Thursday, November 19 12:40 p.m. - 1:25 p.m.

Advocacy and Policy Change
Arts, Culture, and Museum
Behavioral Health
Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation
Evaluation Managers and Supervisors
Government Evaluation
Leadership and Organizational Performance

  1:35 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

Costs, Effectiveness Benefits, and Economics
Higher Education
Human Services Evaluation
Independent Consulting
Internal Evaluation
LatinX Responsive Evaluation Discourse
Quantitative Methods: Theory and Design
Research on Evaluation
Research, Technology & Development Evaluation
Social Work
STEM Education and Training
University-Based Centers

Friday, November 20 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Democracy and Governance
Integrating Technology into Evaluation
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer+ Voices in Evaluation
Systems in Evaluation