1. Chris L. S. Coryn Western Michigan University Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation Evaluator Competency Just Because You Have a Library Card Doesn’t Make You Yoda

2. Kia ora…and special acknowledgments to… Kate McKegg, E. Jane Davidson, my students, the conference organizing committee, & attendees… it is an honor and privilege to have this opportunity

3. An abbreviated life history… that has significantly influenced my world view and evaluation practice

4. Bad is bad and good is good and it is the job of evaluators to decide which is which” — Michael Scriven “

5. Current influences…

6. Other influences… Davidson Cook Shadish Patton Cronbach Stufflebeam Chelimsky Hattie

7. Competency… in most cultural and contextual environments knowledge, skills, abilities, traits, & other characteristics needed to conduct high quality evaluation…

8. A note of explanation… others are ‘worker’-oriented some competencies are ‘work’-oriented…

9. Technical competencies… others often matter more really, really matter…

10. Why? ‘wheat from the chaff’

12. As mentioned by Kushner yesterday… and the requisite competencies are daunting the demands placed on evaluators continue to expand…

13. The umbrella… theory, method, & practice

14. Theoretically knowledgeable… roots, history, & approaches

15. Methodologically knowledgeable… quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, & evaluation-specific

16. One ‘tool’ is usually insufficient…

17. Use-oriented… maximize appropriate use

18. Modest… do not pretend to be ‘all knowing’ recognize the limits of knowledge claims…

19. Benevolent… not self-serving well-meaning…

20. Virtuous… culturally appropriate adhere to ethical and moral principles…

21. Able to impart information… verbal, nonverbal, formal, & informal tailored to audience…

22. Proactive… act in advance foresee potential problems…

23. Maximize cost- benefit… using available resources through project management…

24. Tolerance for ambiguity… able to respond to uncertainty

25. Quick-thinking… act on one’s ‘feet’

26. Able to provide the ‘bottom line’… rather than a Rorschach test

27. Thick-skinned… able to accept criticism and respond appropriately

28. The ‘library card’… having a library card does not one make a good evaluator…” “ — Yoda (as paraphrased by Chris Coryn)

29. In conclusion… nontechnical traits not duly considered in most taxonomies Stevahn et al. — and others — fail to account for several important attributes of ‘high quality’ evaluators…

30. Thank You for Listening!