Introductory Level Courses

Learning Opportunity Fund

Open to CES-NCC members who are from underrepresented groups or sectors, the Fund will help to cover costs associated with participating in CES-NCC professional development events including training sessions, webinars, and the essential skills series.

More information about the Fund is available on the Fund’s application form.

Essential Skills Series
In person, English Course

May 22-23 and 29-30, 2025

In-person, English

Register here for the May 2025 series

Please download the May 2025 series registration form here

This in-person facilitated Essential Skills Series will consist of four full-days of training. This session will be facilitated by Simon Roy and Sandie Moir of Goss Gilroy Inc. The course will be delivered in English.

Essential Skills Series
Virtual, French Course

August to October, 2025

Virtual, French

Register here for the August to October 2025 series – Coming Soon

Please download the August to October 2025 series registration form here

This virtually facilitated Essential Skills Series will consist of five synchronous sessions held over zoom, and 10 self-paced modules completed through the E-Institute platform. The 60-minute synchronous sessions will include a presentation, special guests, and opportunities for Q&A. The course will be delivered in French.

This session will be facilitated by Sylvie Lefrançois of Sogémap.

THIS COURSE IS DESIGNED FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO EVALUATION.

We will be limiting group size to 20 to ensure maximum benefit to participants.

The Essential Skills Series was completely re-designed in 2014 by the Canadian Evaluation Society incorporating state-of-the-art thinking and modern adult learning principles.

Prior knowledge of evaluation, or of social science research methods, is not required, and this course is geared towards individuals who are new to evaluation. On completion, participants to this four-day course will be equipped to enter and participate in the evaluation field and to develop as evaluation professionals. Graduates will be able to describe in basic terms 28 core evaluation concepts – from the uses and benefits of evaluation through common data collection methods to evaluation ethics and standards – and will gain elementary experience in six core practices – from creating logic models to writing findings statements.

Here’s an overview of the topics discussed in this course:

  • Foundations of evaluation
  • Evaluation objectives and roles
  • Program profiling
  • Evaluation questions
  • Evaluation indicators
  • Common research methods
  • Evaluation design
  • Data collection
  • Data management and analysis
  • Synthesizing evidence
  • Communicating evaluation findings

The courses and handout material will be in English only