Schedule at a Glance | Canadian Evaluation Society

Click on the presentation title to read the full presentation description and speaker bio(s) or download the PDF version here.

Follow our LinkedIN page for special announcements and updates.

Thursday, February 26, 2026
8:30 am – 10:00 am	Registration
8:30 am – 9:00 am	Networking Refreshments in the Trade Show Area
9:00 am – 9:45 am	Opening Remarks and Welcome Elena Gallitto, President, CES-NCC Julie Eldridge, Chair, 2026 Annual Learning Event Diamond Sponsor Karl Beaudreault Award Presentation Elder Barb Brant, Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation Tyendinaga
9:45 am – 10:15 am	Opening Keynote Being Your Authentic Self So You Can Connect with Confidence Chris McMartin, Podcast and Keynote Speaker, and National Lead, Scotiabank Women Initiative for Business Banking
10:15 am – 10:30 am	Refreshment Break in the Trade Show Area
10:30 am – 11:00 am	Networking Activity
11:00 am – 12:00 pm	Concurrent Breakouts
ROOM 106DEFG	Building Organizational-level Evaluation and Performance Measurement Capacity: Reflections on a Toolkit Approach From Silos to Learning: Reimagining Evaluation Use in the Federal Public Service Collaborative Sense-making: What Data Parties Bring to Federal Government Evaluations
ROOM 106H	Embrace Your Inner Villain for Professional Courage – Auditors and Evaluators
ROOM 209	Imaginate: The Brainstorm Think Thank
ROOM 210	Walk in Their Shoes: An Empathy Map Sprint to Operationalize a Survivor-centered Approach
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm	Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm	Concurrent Breakouts
ROOM 106DEFG	Making Accountability Count: Measuring Trust and Protecting Communities A Case Study of Evaluation and Internal Audit Partnership on a High-Profile, High-Stakes Project
ROOM 106H	Measuring What Matters: How TRISEG’s Gender-transformative Framework Strengthens Inclusive Evaluation in Fragile Economies
ROOM 209	Making Results Matter: Connecting Evaluation, Research, and Policy in the Federal Landscape
ROOM 210	Seeing the Whole Journey: Journey Mapping as an Innovative Tool for Understanding Participant Experience
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Concurrent Breakouts
ROOM 106DEFG	AI-Induced Anxiety: Hope Driven vis-à-vis Fear Driven
ROOM 106H	Managing Tensions and Trade-offs in Organizational Learning: WUSC’s Journey
ROOM 209	Evaluating Enhanced Homework Clubs Programs: A Service Provider’s Perspective on Community-Led Versus Community-Based Approaches
ROOM 210	Towards Synergies: Leveraging AI for Developing Joint Audit and Evaluation Practices
3:00 pm – 3:15 pm	Refreshment Break in the Trade Show Area
3:15 pm – 4:45 pm	Closing Panel Let’s Talk Value for Money: Spilling the Tea Andres Velez Guerra, Executive Director, Treasury Board Secretariat Anna Engman, Manager, Results Division, Treasury Board Secretariat Cedric Menard, Director of Evaluation, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Donna Smith, Director, Employment and Social Development Canada Jérôme Mercier, Head of Evaluation, Employment and Social Development Canada Jeanette Steffler, Director General, Evaluation Branch, Indigenous Services Canada David Kurfurst, Director of Evaluation and Head of Evaluation, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada MODERATOR: Elena Petrus, Director General, Internal Audit and Evaluation, Treasury Board Secretariat
4:45 pm – 5:00 pm	Closing Remarks
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm	Networking Reception