2013 EEN Pacific Forum

Environmental Evaluation:

Networked Learning for Sustainable Systems

September 22 – 24, 2013
Corbett, Oregon – Menucha Retreat and Conference Center

** Check out the 2012 EEN Unconference **

2013 EEN Pacific Forum

What

The Environmental Evaluators Network (EEN) and the Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN) will co-host the first EEN Pacific Forum at the Menucha Retreat and Conference Center east of Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Recreation Area on September 22-24, 2013. The purpose of the EEN is to improve the field of environmental evaluation through more systematic and collective learning among both evaluators and evaluation users. We will gather with friends and colleagues for a networking-intensive, learning-focused “evaluation camp” in an informal retreat setting where we’ll discuss how our disciplines and organizations can make collective progress toward sustainable systems and societies in our region.

The Challenge

Organizations involved with the environment, natural resources , and economic and ecological sustainability strive for evidence-based policies, programs, and operational decisions. However, from the complexity of ecological and social systems flows a buzzing, blooming confusion of data and information. Different approaches to research and evaluation reflect the varied academic disciplines and settings where this work is done: government agencies and NGOs from local to international scales, philanthropic organizations, businesses, and academia. The Pacific region of the U.S. and Canada have unique natural resource and environmental issues; how can we weave together a learning network of people, organizations, methods, knowledge, and perspectives for better design of solutions to these challenges?

Theme: Networked Learning for Sustainable Systems

The Forum will explore:
•  Who we are – building the regional environmental evaluation network
•  What we do – sharing our tools, methods, networks, and innovations
•  Seeing sustainability through systems thinking and systems-oriented evaluation
•  Tools, practices, skills, methods, knowledge, and information that increase our capacity to learn and collaborate on environmental evaluation and sustainability
•  The Future – Next steps to advance environmental evaluation research

Priority Issues

•  Biodiversity and Ecology
•  Sustainable Systems
•  Public Health
•  Education
•  Environmental Justice & Social Equity

Featured Speakers

Beverly Parsons
Executive Director, Insites;
President-elect, American Evaluation Association

Kai Lee
Packard Foundation

Sponsors

•  Environmental Evaluators Network
•  Oregon Program Evaluators Network
•  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Audience

The forum welcomes professionals who conduct, commission, or use environmental evaluation and who work in conservation, environmental protection, natural resource management, or sustainable development in government, foundations, consulting, nonprofits, academia, and transnational institutions.

Format

In additional to traditional presentations and panel discussions, the forum will provide a venue for lively, participant-driven dialogue and participatory sessions with ample time for informal, spontaneous interaction and innovative experiential formats and technology applications. Register and Submit a Proposal.

Day 1 Events: Room, Notes and Format (details/options)
4:00pm Onsite Check-in and Registration
5:30pm Welcome to Menucha and the EEN Pacific Forum
Shawn Morford, Rural Development Initiatives
Michael Coe, Cedar Lake Research Group
Menucha Staff

What do You Want the EEN Pacific Forum to be?

Great Hall, Wright Hall
6:00pm Dinner Dining Room, Wright Hall
7:00pm Getting to Know the Environmental Evaluators Network and the EEN Pacific Forum
Matt Keene, Environmental Protection Agency
Christina Kakoyannis, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Ken Vance Borland, Conservation Planning Institute

Discussion

Great Hall, Wright Hall
8:00pm Dessert and Campfire

Day 2 Events: Room, LS and Notes
7:00am Early Riser Activities

Walk with Menucha Naturalist
“Cultural History of the Columbia Gorge”
Lynn Gibbon

Meeting Point in front of Wright Hall
8:00am Breakfast Dining Room, Wright Hall
9:00am Welcome to Menucha

Introducing the EENP
Shawn Morford, Rural Development Initiatives
Matt Keene, Environmental Protection Agency

Networked Learning Among Environmental Users and Practitioners: Starting the Conversation
Beverly Parsons, American Evaluation Association

Great Hall, Wright Hall
9:45am Respondents and Discussion
10:30am Break
10:45am Breakout Session #1

  1. Unpacking Power Dynamics in Natural Resource Management: Bringing Indigenous People’s Perspectives to the Fore in an Environmental Evaluation in Northeastern Cambodia
    Yuko Yoneda, Oxfam America
    Evaluation of Bio-Cultural Conservation Programs and Projects
    Alyssa Miller, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  2. Evaluating Behavior Change Intervention Opportunities for Energy-Efficiency Programs
    Alexandra Dunn, Research Into Action
    Mersiha McClaren, Research Into Action
    Loren Lutzenhiser, Portland State University
    Integration of Economic and Financial Methods into Evaluation of State Energy Conservation and Alternative Energy Market Development Programs
    Cynthia Manson, Industrial Economics, Incorporated
  3. Three Perspectives on an Evaluation of Habitat Restoration in the Great Lakes Region
    Edward Wilson, Edward W. Wilson Consulting
    Christina Kakoyannis, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
    David Hubbard, Coastal Restoration Consultants
  4. Sustaining Complexity by Evaluating Expertise Networks: A Case Study from a Driftless Area Landscape
    Bethany Laursen, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Presentation # and Room Location

  1. Ballard Hall Large Conference Room
  2. Greenhouse
  3. Great Hall
  4. Ballard Hall Small Conference Room
11:45am Break
12:00pm Lunch Dining Room
12:30pm Presenting Data Effectively
Stephanie Evergreen, Evergreen Data
Great Hall
1:15pm Breakout Session #2

  1. The Convergence of Evaluation and Organizational Learning
    Anna Williams, Perspectio
  2. Measuring Habitat and Biodiversity Outcomes
    Sara Vickerman, Defenders of Wildlife
    Can We Actually Achieve Fishable Swimmable Waters?
    Bobby Cochran, Willamette Partnership
  3. Optimizing State and Municipal Program Evaluations: Image-ining How to Remove Barriers
    Veronica Smith, data2insight LLC
    Alison Peters, Alison Peters Consulting
  4. Squaring Complexity with Our Planning and the Capacity of Our Evaluation Tools
    Jonny Morell, Fulcrum Corporation
Presentation # and Room Location

  1. Ballard Hall Small Conference Room
  2. Great Hall
  3. Greenhouse
  4. Ballard Hall Large Conference Room
2:15pm Break
2:30pm Breakout Session #3

  1. STARting to Build Evidence of Systemic Effects
    Note: This session runs until 4:30.
    Richard Gelb, King County
    Aaron Lande, Star Communities
  2. The American Evaluation Association in 2014: What’s Your Visionary Evaluation?
    Matt Keene, Environmental Protection Agency
    Beverly Parsons, InSites
  3. Impact Assessment of Natural Resource and Environmental Programs Using Propensity Score Analysis
    Mark Braza, U.S. Government Accountability Office
  4. Getting to Know the EEN Pacific Using Social Network Analysis
    Ken Vance-Borland, Conservation Planning Institute
    Judy Soule, Conservation Planning Institute
    Debbie Gowensmith, Groundswell Services
Presentation # and Room Location

  1. Ballard Hall Large Conference Room – Note this session runs through 4:30 in this room.
  2. Greenhouse
  3. Ballard Hall Small Conference Room
  4. Great Hall
3:30pm Break
3:45pm Breakout Session #4

  1. Evaluating a Complex Environmental Education Initiative
    Patricia Jessup, Jessup & Associates, LLC
  2. Easy Social Network Analysis (for Evaluating Modular Adhocracies)
    Bethany Laursen, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  3. You Speak My Language: Using Open Standards to Build a Rosetta Stone for Federal Land Management Agencies and Policies
    Sara O’Brien, Defenders of Wildlife
  4. Evaluating “The Design Turn
    Howard Silverman, Pattern Labs
Presentation # and Room Location

  1. Ballard Hall Small Conference Room
  2. Greenhouse
  3. Great Hall
  4. Wright Hall Small Conference Room
4:30pm Free Time
6:00pm Dinner Dining Room
7:00pm Reception and Tribute to Gail Achterman Great Hall

Day 3 Events: Room, LS and Notes
7:00am Early Riser Activities

Walk with Menucha Naturalist
“Natural History of the Columbia Gorge”
Lynn Gibbon

Meeting Point in front of Wright Hall
8:00am Breakfast Dining Room
9:00am Welcome and Good Morning!
Shawn Morford, Rural Development Initiatives

Keynote: “Evaluation and (and as) Production of Knowledge”
Kai Lee, David & Lucille Packard Foundation
Introduction by Andy Rowe

Great Hall
9:45am Respondents and Discussion
10:30am Break
10:45am Breakout Session #5

  1. An Architecture of Environmental Evaluation: For a Better Understanding of Evaluation, Evidence and Effectiveness
    Matt Keene, Environmental Protection Agency
    Michael Coe, Cedar Lake Research Group
  2. Evaluating Ecosystems Markets for Environmental Sustainability
    Harbans Lal, National Resources Conservation Service US Department of Agriculture
  3. Using the Conservation Registry to Improve Ecological Outcomes
    Kassandra Kelly, Defenders of Wildlife
    Oregon Explorer: Using GIS for Reporting and Communications
    Janine Salwassar, Institute for Natural Resources
    Marc Rempel, Oregon State University
  4. Use of Adaptive Program Evaluation in the Environmental Policy Arena
    Andy Chinn, Ross Strategic
    Nancy Tosta, Ross Strategic
    Louis Sweeney, Ross Strategic
  5. How Governance, Evaluation and Worldviews Constrain Connectivity: Causes and Implications
    Andy Rowe, ARCeconomics Ltd.
Presentation # and Room Location

  1. Greenhouse
  2. Ballard Room Small Conference Room
  3. Great Hall
  4. Wright Hall Small Conference Room
  5. Ballard Hall Large Conference Room
11:45am Break
12:00pm Lunch Dining Room
1:00- 2:15pm Breakout Session #6 – World Cafe

  1. Evaluating Policy Advocacy: What it Takes and Tools of the Trade
    Anna Williams, Perspectio
  2. Finding Common Ground: Supporting Sustainability Students and Educators
    Kathleen Gygi, Marylhurst University
  3. Prospective Methods for Assessing Environmental Inspection Programs
    Mark Braza, U.S. Government Accountability Office
    Michael Krafve, U.S. Government Accountability Office
  4. How to Guide for Marine Spatial Planning Outreach
    Libby Whiting, Washington Department of Natural Resources
  5. Share and Explore Models for Evaluating Behavior Change
    Kara Crohn, Energy Market Innovations
  6. Introducing the Systematic Review
    Lisa Gaines, Institute for Natural Resources
    Rob Fiegener, Institute for Natural Resources
  7. EENP: A Social Network Analysis
    Ken Vance Borland, Conservation Planning Institute
    Judy Soule, Conservation Planning Institute
    Debbie Gowensmith, Groundswell Services
  8. Environmental Equity: Measurement and Evaluation Considerations
    Richard Gelb, King County
Great Hall
2:15pm Break
2:30- 4:00pm Mystery Madness Productivity Plenary Great Hall

More Information

• Join the EEN on LinkedIn for all of the latest announcements and environmental evaluation discussions
• Follow EEN and the details about the 2013 EEN Pacific Forum on Twitter @enviroevalnet #EEN13
• Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN)

 

45 Comments

  1. Shawn Morford
    06 October 13, 9:27am

    Greetings! What an amazing two days together last month at the EEN Pacific forum. Notes from the final plenary called “Now What?” will be posted soon! Also watch for a survey to get your reactions, feedback, suggestions in the next couple of weeks. Let us know how you are following up on contacts made at the forum…!

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  32. Nancy Carrillo
    16 September 13, 3:24pm

    I reserved a Green Shuttle for 6:10 pm pick-up from PDX airport on Sunday Sept. 22nd. Please let me know if you would like to join me!
    cell: (505)934-0680

  33. Kara Crohn
    06 September 13, 9:06am

    I reserved a Green Shuttle for 4:45 pm pick-up from PDX airport on Sunday Sept. 22nd. (Christina is no longer using her shuttle reservation.) Please let me know if you would like to join me!
    cell: 951.255.3624
    kcrohn@emiconsulting.com

  34. Jamey Berg
    03 September 13, 9:15am

    I’ll be communiting on Monday from SW Portland (near Sylvan exit on Hwy 26). Let me know if anyone is interested in carpooling from this area. Thanks!

    • Renee Curtis
      03 September 13, 7:01pm

      Hi Jamey. I’m not far & on your way. I’m right off of I-84. Contact me at rbogin@pdx.edu if you’d like to carpool. Thanks,Renee

  35. Harbans Lal
    03 September 13, 7:35am

    I will be comuting on Monday and Tuesday fron Tualatin, OR and will be glad to carpool if someone is coming from the region such as West Linn, Lake Oswego, Wilsonville, Tigard, Wilsonville, etc. Thanks,

  36. Renee Curtis
    02 September 13, 5:50pm

    I plan to commute daily to/from eastside of Portland. I live off I-84 & I-205, near a max stop and can fit 2-3 in my car. There is also plenty of parking in my neighborhood. I’m still working out transportation arrangements for my kids on Monday & Tuesday, but feel free to contact me about potential carpool to reduce the commute: rbogin@pdx.edu. I’d also love to drive Sunday then catch a ride Monday or Tuesday.

  37. Julie Smith
    30 August 13, 12:48pm

    I will be arriving at PDX at 10:39 am on Sunday, September 22 and departing on September 24 at 6:00 pm. If anyone is coming in/going out about those times and would like to share a shuttle, just let me know. Email me at julie.smith@wmich.edu.

  38. Christina Kakoyannis
    16 August 13, 4:19pm

    I’ve got a Green shuttle reserved for 4pm pickup from PDX airport on Sunday, Sept 22nd to the Menucha retreat. They told me that additional people are only a few dollars more. If anyone wants to carpool with me, just drop me a note at christina.kakoyannis@nfwf.org.

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