The Evaluation Center
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Evaluation Planning Retreat

If you’ve been wanting to use data and evaluation to strengthen your program or organization but haven’t had the time, support, or clarity to make it happen, the Evaluation Planning Retreat is for you.

Join us May 11–15, 2026, in Kalamazoo, MI, for a hands-on week where you’ll build the core tools your initiative needs: logic models, evaluation questions, data collection plans, and more. Whether your initiative is brand new or well underway, you’ll leave with practical tools and a clear plan to measure and communicate your impact.

Evaluation Planning Retreat

The Evaluation Center's Evaluation Planning Retreat is for anyone who wants to use data and evaluation to enhance their work. By the end of the week, you’ll leave with an actionable evaluation framework, ready-to-use tools, and a plan to communicate your impact, setting your initiative up for lasting success.

Date: May 11–15, 2026 

Time: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EDT 

Location: Fetzer Center, 2251 Business Ct, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (on Western Michigan University’s main campus)

The retreat is designed for teams who are ready to collaborate to either jumpstart a new evaluation or strengthen existing practices. No prior evaluation experience is required. Whether your initiative is still in the planning stages or well underway, you’ll gain practical skills and tangible products, and leverage evaluation to advance your mission.

Each day includes engaging activities, hands-on work time, peer feedback, and one-on-one support from instructors. You’ll apply key concepts directly to your own initiative as you develop foundational evaluation deliverables:

  • Program logic model
  • Detailed evaluation plan, including evaluation questions, indicators, data collection strategies, plans for analysis, and sensemaking
  • New or improved data collection instrument
  • Slide deck to present the plan to others in your organization 
You will also learn:
  • Multiple ways evaluation can be used for the benefit of your organization and the people you serve
  • Simple ways to nurture a culture of evaluation
  • The value of infusing equity- and asset-framing throughout your evaluation

The retreat will be facilitated by senior staff from the Western Michigan University Evaluation Center. We have deep experience as evaluation practitioners and educators and are ready to meet you wherever you are on your evaluation journey. 

Learn more about each of the instructors: Dr. Megan López, Dr. Kelly Robertson, Dr. Lori Wingate, and Dr. Brandon Youker. 

The Evaluation Center is widely recognized for its 60+ years of leadership in advancing evaluation theory, practice, and use. We are well known for our talent for translating evaluation concepts into practical strategies to support data-informed learning and decision making.

Learn more about The Evaluation Center and what guides our work by exploring our mission, vision, values, and beliefs about evaluation. 

Have additional questions before registering? View answers to other frequently asked questions about the retreat.

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Pricing and Registration

Registration for the Evaluation Planning Retreat is now closed. If you’re interested in future offerings or would like to be notified when registration opens again, please stay connected with us for updates.

For maximum benefit, we encourage organizations to send more than one person to the institute. Our pricing structure makes it cost-effective to send up to five people.

Fee includes breakfast, lunch, and materials.

Community Participants

Cost: $1,800* for the first two participants from the same organization, $300 for each additional (up to five per organization). 

* If the cost of attendance is prohibitive, we can offer a sliding-scale fee.

WMU Participants

Cost: $950 for the first two participants from the same department, $300 for each additional (up to five per department). 

Evaluation Retreat FAQ's

Review frequently asked questions about the Evaluation Retreat.

Questions

Please email @email with any questions.