EvaluATE Pre-conference Session
ATE Evaluators: Connect, Share, Learn
Date: Tuesday, July 28
Time: 8:30 a.m. – noon
ATE evaluators, come share your evaluation experiences, learn from each other, and connect with fellow ATE evaluators! Eight ATE evaluators will present their ATE evaluation experience to their peers and colleagues, sharing their successes, discussing challenges, and gaining insight into others’ evaluation techniques. The session will also involve networking activities for ATE evaluators to get to know each other and identify common points of interest and collaboration opportunities. Attending evaluators will grow their network of ATE evaluator peers, gain insight into new practices, and group problem-solve difficult situations.
Presenters: Lyssa Wilson Becho, Megan Lopez, and Brianna Hooks-Singletary
EvaluATE Conference Presentations
Building Strong Logic Models for ATE Proposals and Evaluation
Date: Wednesday, July 29
Time: 10:15 – 11 a.m.
Logic models are powerful tools for clarifying and communicating a project’s goals, activities, and intended outcomes. They strengthen grant proposals and evaluation plans by clearly showing how project efforts lead to meaningful results. In this interactive session, presenters will introduce the essential components of an effective logic model and share practical strategies for developing logic models that strengthen ATE proposals. Participants will learn how to align activities with outcomes, communicate project value, and avoid common pitfalls. Participants will then apply what they learned by reviewing their own draft logic model or working from a provided template. Presenters will offer individualized feedback and guidance to help participants strengthen their logic models. Whether you are refining an existing logic model or starting from scratch, this session will provide practical tools you can use immediately. Participants will leave with a logic model guide and template.
Presenters: Lyssa Wilson Becho, Principal Research Associate, EvaluATE, Kelly Robertson, Principal Research Associate, EvaluATE, J. Michael, and Brianna Hooks Singletary, Senior Research Associate, EvaluATE
Sharing What Matters: Audience-Centered Impact Communication
Date: Thursday, July 30
Time: 1:45 – 2:30 p.m.
Sharing your impact means more than reporting what you did. It means telling a story that resonates with the right people in the right way. This session helps evaluators and project teams move beyond routine grant reporting to communicate outcomes that actually connect. We’ll explore how to identify your key audiences, pinpoint what matters most to each of them, and make intentional choices about how you frame and share your work. We’ll also address common communication challenges specific to technical education and walk through practical tools and strategies you can bring back to your team. Participants will leave with resources and strategies to support more intentional, audience-centered communication of their grant’s outcomes and impact.
Presenters: Brianna Hooks Singletary, Senior Research Associate, EvaluATE, and Lyssa Wilson Becho, Principal Research Associate, EvaluATE
In-Person Meet & Greet
EvaluATE will also be holding an in-person meet and greet event at the 2025 HI-TEC Conference.
This event is free and open to anyone looking to connect with an evaluator. Join us for some light refreshments and opportunities to find the right evaluator to support your ATE proposal.
Date: Wednesday, July 23
Time: 5:15 – 6:15 p.m. CT
Location: St. Croix I, 6th Floor of the Marriott City Center
- Guide to Finding and Selecting an Evaluator for ATE Proposals
- Getting to Know an Evaluator: What Should I Ask?
- PI-Evaluator Virtual Meet & Greet
- ATE Evaluator Directory
- Essential Steps for ATE Grant Seekers: Where to Start with Evaluation and What To Do Next
- Additional Resources for ATE Grant Seekers
- ATE RFP Repository
- Who's Who at HI-TEC
- Navigating the Procurement Process
- Join Our Mailing List
- Evaluation Plan Checklist for ATE Proposals
EvaluATE is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 2332143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.