Conference Theme - Hulihia: Transformative Ea Through Kuleana  

Hulihia is to overturn, a complete change, turning upside down. Transformative ea through

kuleana invokes reflexivity. On one hand, it invokes the right to self-determination and the

inherent responsibility and privilege of our mea kuleana (stakeholders) to define and

pursue a future that reflects their dreams and aspirations for themselves and future

generations. On the other hand, it invokes the responsibility (kuleana) and power (ea) we

hold as evaluators to be agents of social change who "contribute to the common good and

advancement of a just and equitable society" (AEA, 2018, Guiding Principles). 

Keynote Speaker Dr.  Sanjeev Sridharan  Sanjeev Sridharan is Professor of Health Policy Evaluation at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Previously he was the Country Lead, Learning Systems and Systems Evaluation at the India Country Office of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to this position, Sanjeev was Director of the Evaluation Centre for Complex Health Interventions at St. Michael's Hospital and Associate Professor at the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is a former associate editor of the American Journal of Evaluation and has been on boards of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, New Directions for Evaluation and Evaluation and Program Planning.

Keynote Invited Panel

Evaluation as Navigation: What can the field learn from Hawaiian Epistemology?

Co-chaired by Sanjeev Sridharan, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Manulani Aluli Meyer , University of Hawai’i - West O’ahu. Panelists include Desiree Cremer,  ‘Aiea High School, April Nakaima, University of Toronto, and Sean Okamoto,  University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. 

Keynote Invited Panel Description

This panel recognizes that Evaluation as a field is at a crossroads. And as we work to build better systems of care, this panel will explore how evaluations can help navigate systems to provide more compassionate and contextually situated care. The panel will discuss what evaluation as navigation means and how this metaphor of navigation is connected to recent developments in evaluation including Developmental Evaluation and Systems Evaluation. We also will explore how Hawaiian epistemology can help with clarifying ways of further building evaluation as navigation. Key aspects of evaluation as navigation include situations in which there is incompleteness in knowledge, a clear road map of change is missing, and change requires multiple heterogeneous actors connected by purpose but doing a range of different activities.  This panel will highlight how a navigational view of evaluation can help improve systems of care in schools, health, and homelessness.