Deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026
The American Evaluation Association (AEA) and the International and Cross-Cultural Evaluation (ICCE) TIG are pleased to invite professional evaluators living and practicing in developing, lower and middle-income, and under-resourced countries and experiencing financial hardship to submit applications for International Travel Awards to attend and present at the AEA Evaluation 2026 Conference. The conference is scheduled for November 16-20, 2026, in Charlotte, NC, USA.
This year, we anticipate awarding one International Travel Award stipend of up to $2,500 USD. In addition to the stipend, the selected awardee will receive waived conference registration, pre/post conference workshops, and one year of AEA membership. The award may be used to support travel costs (flights, visas, etc.), food, and shared accommodations. To further support our international colleagues, AEA will award up to five waived conference registrations to the highest-rated applicants.
Please note that the award are paid out by wire transfer within 45 days of the conclusion of the conference as a reimbursement of completed, documented expenses, and are paid only to those who are selected, attend, and make the anticipated presentation. No funds will be dispersed prior to the conference.
Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for an AEA International Travel Award, all applicants must meet all criteria below:
- Have not previously participated in AEA conferences.
- Demonstrate good fluency in English, being able to make a professional presentation and sustain a discussion in English (applicants may be interviewed by one of the International and Cross-Cultural TIG Co-Chairs as part of the selection process).
- Submit a complete INDIVIDUAL application (group applications will not be accepted) via the link below, including cover letter, budget, curriculum vitae or resume, and 2 letters of reference. No application will be considered without all of these elements.
- Be a citizen of, and both reside and practice evaluation in, an developing, lower and middle income, and under-resourced country for at least two years (US citizens or those with dual citizenship between the US and a second country are not eligible; for a list of countries considered to be developing, lower and middle income, and under-resourced, click here).
- Propose to present at the Evaluation 2026 conference and have at least one proposal accepted. Applicants must submit one of the following approved presentation types: Panel, Multi-paper, Expert Lecture, Demonstration, or Think Tank. Submissions that do not follow the approved formats will not be considered for these awards. If a proposal is submitted in an approved session format, but is accepted to present as a format outside of the approved list, then the submitter is not eligible for these awards. Acceptance letters will be issued in June.
For help submitting a strong proposal if your topic is international focused, join the ICCE TIG proposal preparation workshop on April 23, 10-11am EST. You can register here. We will explain the new conference review process and provide tips on making ICCE topics competitive in the new stream submission process.
Funds for the International Travel Awards are raised through generous donations to the AEA Silent Auction and the contributions of workshop speakers who donate their honorariums.
Interested in supporting the International Travel Awards? You can make a generous donation here. Thank you!
Submission Process: To apply for the AEA International Travel Awards, please follow the two steps below:
- Review the proposal submission guidelines online by clicking here, and then submit a proposal. You may submit a proposal focusing on any evaluation topic, although you are encouraged to consider the theme of the conference when choosing a topic, and
- Complete the application form below. Please prepare to submit the following documents on or before Friday, May 15, 2026.
- A cover letter, not exceeding one page, noting your interest in applying for the International Travel Awards;
- A current Curriculum Vitae or Resume, and
- Two letters of support, one preferably coming from your local evaluation association (if one exists) that confirms your membership and verifies your full contact information: email, telephone, postal address, and work affiliation. While not required, proposals submitted with a letter of support from a local evaluation association are generally preferred and will greatly supplement your application materials.
Proposals should be in English, while letters of support may be in a different language (English, Spanish, or French are preferred).
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Please note that the conference proposal and international travel award application processes are separate and require two actions. While proposals are submitted online via the AEA website, travel awards are processed manually by the ICCE TIG Co-Chairs. Applications submitted without a proposal submission to AEA or proposals submitted to AEA without an application submission will not be considered for these awards. Upon submission of your proposal, be on the lookout for an email from AEA confirming the successful receipt of your proposal.
Awardees must be fully aware of all applicable travel restrictions, visa requirements, and vaccine requirements in order to attend the conference. You may request a letter of invitation here. Please check with your preferred insurance provider to explore travel insurance options. Many airlines also have travel insurance options you might take advantage of when organizing your travel. We advise applicants to work toward securing visas now before booking non-refundable flight tickets or investigating travel insurance options, as most embassies are averaging a six-month timeframe to process applications. Please note that if you book flights that include layovers, there may be visa requirements in place.
For information on requirements for air travelers to the US, visit the State Department.
Expectations: You will be attending the AEA Annual Conference from Wednesday afternoon through Friday (November 16-20, 2026), and, at some point during that time, you will be giving your presentation as scheduled on the conference program. You are welcome to attend pre- or post-conference workshops (November 16-18, 2026), but these are not required. Participants in the program will receive special invitations to meet colleagues from around the world and participate in special sessions at the conference.
Selection: A small committee of reviewers from the International and Cross-Cultural Evaluation TIG of AEA will select the travel award recipients based on the following criteria:
- Quality of the proposal submitted for presentation at the conference (relevance/importance to a broad AEA audience; relevance/importance to the TIG; technical quality; innovativeness; contributions to new AEA members' professional development; diversity/variety of presentations; and focus on evaluation methods, theories, policies, and practices).
- Evidence of leadership in and contributions to the evaluation profession in your country of practice (These contributions can be professional associations or the workplace. Applicants from countries that do not have a professional evaluation association will not be ranked lower than applicants that do have an association).
- Quality of the supporting documentation (cover letter and letters of support).
Assistance with Your Proposal and Application: If you are considering applying for an International Travel Award and would like assistance in developing and compiling your conference proposal and/or your International Travel Award application, or determining your eligibility to apply, please contact Tamarah Moss at iccetravelaward@gmail.com on or before Friday, May 15, 2026.
Application Deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026, at 11:59 in the Eastern Time Zone in the United States (EST). Please note that this is shortly after the deadline for submitting a conference proposal and that you must have submitted both your conference proposal to AEA and your application for this award.