OPEN was recently recognized by the American Evaluation Association for its event Cultivating Cultural Competence in Evaluation: Because Evaluations Are Not Culture-Free. As the AEA reported on the event:
A panel and roundtable discussion event focused on actively engaging issues of culture with evaluation activities and the application of the AEA Statement of Cultural Competence in practice. Created and disseminated in 2011 by the AEA Cultural Competence in Evaluation Task Force, the AEA Statement of Cultural Competence served as one of the anchoring resources for this event, contributing definitions and key concepts as guidance and reference. Local, respected panelists were invited to share their experiences with cultural competence in evaluation in their respective disciplines during the event, which was led by Kari Greene, senior research analyst at the Oregon Public Health Division and leader of the policy subgroup of the AEA Cultural Competence Working Group. Attendees were presented with the unique opportunity to interact and engage with each other to address the bevy of burning questions surrounding culturally competent evaluation. What resulted was an exuberant exchange and an escalated desire to contribute to cultural awareness in practice.
