Building Trust Through Better Evaluation Design

Poorly designed evaluation can waste time, overwhelm staff, damage trust, and produce data no one can actually use. This session breaks down the most common evaluation design mistakes and shows how to build evaluation that is clear, meaningful, and aligned with the people it’s meant to serve.

Free Virtual Lunch and Learn

When: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. (MT)
Where: Virtual • Free • 30-minute presentation

Details:

Hosted on Google Meet (link sent after registration)
Replay provided to all registrants

Who This Is For

This session is especially relevant for:

State Agencies and Public Programs That Fund Services

Responsible for defining reporting requirements and assessing impact.

Funding Bodies and Grantmakers

Seeking clearer evidence of cause and effect to fund with confidence.

Program Officers and Decision-Makers

Who rely on reports to understand whether funded work is achieving its intended outcomes.

Organizations Funded by Public or Philanthropic Sources

Looking to understand what funders actually need and why.

If you play any role in defining, reviewing, or responding to evaluation requirements, this session is for you.

What You’ll Learn

In this 30-minute session (including a live Q&A), Audie will walk through:

The most common evaluation design mistakes and why they happen
How misalignment between funders and programs undermines impact
Why people-centered evaluation leads to better data and stronger trust
How to develop constituent personas to guide clearer requirements and reporting
Practical ways funders and organizations can design evaluation that centers the people they aim to help

The focus is not adding more requirements — it’s about designing better ones.

Why You Should Attend

Bad evaluation design doesn’t just frustrate organizations; it erodes trust between funders and the programs they support.

Too often:

Funders aren’t clear on what data they actually need to see.
Organizations focus on meeting requirements rather than reflecting real impact.
Reporting becomes a box-checking exercise instead of a learning tool.
Both sides lose confidence in the results.

At the root of this challenge is a shared disconnect: evaluation that isn’t grounded in a real understanding of the people the funding is meant to support.

This session is designed to help bridge that gap.

What You’ll Receive

Everyone who registers will receive:

Access to our live virtual presentation
Access to a recording of the full session
The Authentic Evaluation: Persona Map Guide (PDF): A practical tool to help clarify who evaluation is for and what truly matters to measure
Time for live Q&A during the session

Meet the Presenter

Audie Nadler is the founder and lead evaluator at Authentic Evaluation. They specialize in creative, culturally responsive evaluation approaches that help organizations capture meaningful insight, tell honest impact stories, and align evaluation with their mission.

Audie works with nonprofits, public programs, Indigenous-serving organizations, and foundations to make evaluation more human, more useful, and more empowering, especially in moments of uncertainty and change.

Ready to join us?

If evaluation requirements feel unclear, ineffective, or disconnected from the people they’re meant to serve, this session offers a practical reset.