Tuesday 23rd June 2026, 10:00 – 16:00 BST, Online (via Zoom)
You are warmly invited to attend CECAN’s annual conference, ‘Global perspectives on Complex Evaluation’ on Tuesday 23rd June 2026.
This year, we are looking beyond the UK to explore how policy evaluation is evolving internationally. We’ll bring together leading voices from the US and Europe to compare and contrast how different regions navigate the challenges of evaluating public policy in a complex world.
Our 2026 conference features a series of live, interview-style conversations with international experts (see biographies below). These interviews will explore how high-quality evaluation is being embedded into the heart of different governments, the current trends and innovations in their respective regions, and how the policy process is adapting to modern pressures. Each interview will be followed by an open, interactive Q&A session.
The conference will be of value for all those involved in policy development, delivery and evaluation.
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Programme:
10:00 – 10:15 | Welcome
10:15 – 11:00 | In Conversation with Peter van der Knaap, Director of the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB), The Hague; President of the European Evaluation Society (EES)
11:00 – 11:15 | Break
11:15 – 12:00 | In Conversation with May Pettigrew, Recent Past President, European Evaluation Society (EES)
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12:15 – 13:45 | Open-Space (Optional)
An open session where participants can propose topics or questions for discussion based on the morning interviews or any other area aligned to the general theme of the day. Our facilitator will host the discussions flexibly, gathering proposed topics and then hosting a single forum or a series of breakout group sessions and report-backs. Participants can join or leave at any time during the session. This session will not be recorded.
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14:00 – 14:45 | In Conversation with Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, Professor, University of Connecticut
14:45 – 15:00 | Break
15:00 – 15:45 | In Conversation with Aileen Reid, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
15:45 – 16:00 | Summary & Close – Prof. Nigel Gilbert
Q&A after each interview and the lunchtime Open Space will be hosted by Dr Paul Brand – England and Wales Chair for the International Association of Facilitators (IAF)
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Please note, this event is free but places are limited, so registration is required. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
CLICK HERE to register for a place
If you have any questions, please contact CECAN by emailing cecan@surrey.ac.uk
Speaker Biographies:
Peter van der Knaap
Director of IOB-evaluation, The Hague; President of EES
Dr. P. (Peter) van der Knaap is Director of IOB, the independent Evaluation Directorate of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of the European Evaluation Society (EES). Van der Knaap is also a co-chair of OECD-DAC’s EvalNet.
Prior to his work for IOB, Van der Knaap was Director of SWOV Road Safety Research Institute, Director of Performance Audit of the Netherlands Court of Audit, and Head of Evaluation Research with the Netherlands Ministry of Finance. He worked at Erasmus University Rotterdam where he earned his PhD with an analysis of the impact of policy evaluation on European Union structural policy.
His lifelong fascination with evaluation and public policy has led to countless articles and books, on evaluation in general (in Dutch) and on positive evaluation (in English). Peter was President of the Dutch Evaluation Society Vide from 2016 until 2022 and is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ‘Evaluation’. He lives and works close to the beach in The Hague with his wife and family (and a shed full of kiteboarding gear).
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May Pettigrew
Recent Past President, European Evaluation Society (EES)
May Pettigrew completed her two year term as President of EES in December 2025, leading the Society’s strategic directions and operations and was Co-Coordinator of EES 2018, 2022 and 2024 conferences. She is an independent evaluation specialist with over 25 years experience across the full spectrum of ex-ante, ex-post, impact, strategy and policy evaluation, evaluation capacity building and quality assurance across education, vocational training, social policy, information technology and fragile contexts. May has held senior evaluation posts at the European Commission and UNESCO. She has undertaken Masters and Doctoral studies under Professor Barry MacDonald, University of East Anglia.
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Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead
Professor, University of Connecticut
Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, PhD, is a professor of research methods, measurement, and evaluation in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, USA. She specializes in evaluation methodology, theory, practice, and capacity building, with research focused on evaluation quality, evaluator education, and applied studies of educational interventions and policies. Her scholarship appears in the American Journal of Evaluation, Evaluation, and other leading outlets. Since 2023, she has served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of New Directions for Evaluation. She previously chaired EvalYouth (2015–2019) and served as Vice Chair of the International Society for Evaluation Education (2018–2021), receiving the 2021 EvalYouth Award. She has led evaluation projects of varying size and complexity, securing over $19 million in external projects as PI or co-PI. She has also delivered workshops for the United Nations, the European Evaluation Society, the African Evaluation Association, the Australian Evaluation Society, and other global organizations.
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Aileen Reid
Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Aileen Reid is an Associate Professor of Educational Research Methodology in the Information, Library, and Research Sciences department and a Senior Fellow in the Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Services at UNC Greensboro. She has over 20 years of evaluation experience and has presented and published her work in program evaluation, education, and the STEM disciplines in North America, Latin America, and Australia. Dr. Reid is an Affiliate Faculty member for the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment and a Book Review Section Co-Editor for the American Journal of Evaluation. Dr. Reid co-directs the STEM Program Evaluation Lab, which provides training in research and evaluation for graduate and undergraduate students on STEM education projects. Aileen investigates inequities in outcomes among underrepresented and minoritized groups, and values-engaged teaching, learning, and mentorship in research and evaluation. Dr. Reid is the 2020 UNC Greensboro Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award recipient.
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