The DC Consortium Student Conference on Evaluation and Policy (SCEP) is a collaboration of universities in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Maryland regions, representing the interests of students aspiring to be evaluators and policy makers. This collaboration aims to provide students with a platform to present their research and engage with evaluation experts in the opportunity-rich region of Washington, D.C., thereby serving as a bridge between students, academia and other evaluation and policy agencies/organizations. In this presentation, students from the Organizing Committee discuss lessons learned from DC SCEP’s inaugural conference. Features of the conference include a keynote address, interdisciplinary panel, and about 30 student presentations. We will highlight lessons learned concerning how the conference served to broker knowledge towards its theme, ‘Advancing Social Justice in Evaluation and Policy Integration’ with Consortium graduate students in the region.

1. Faun Rockcliffe - Howard University
Akashi Kaul - George Mason University
William Rodick - George Mason University
Stacey McDonald-Lowe, Howard University
Sophia Brown, George Washington University
Shelley Starkey, George Washington University
Development of the DC Consortium Student Conference on
Evaluation and Policy (DC SCEP):
Towards Graduate Student Knowledge Brokering

2. The Beginnings of
DC SCEP
● Identified need for DMV graduate
student professional development and
networking
● Inspiration: Edward F. Kelly Evaluation
Evaluation Conference that has taken
place in southern Canada and upstate
New York
● Post Brown Bag Session: Brainstorming
Student Led Conference
○ Rodney Hopson, George Mason
University
○ Veronica Thomas, Howard
University
○ Katherine Dawes, George
Washington University
○ Valerie Caracelli, U.S. Government
Accountability Office
● Identified student representatives
● Began Planning in Fall 2016
Washington Evaluators Brown Bag
Session - February 24, 2016.
“Transitioning from School to Work:
Preparing Evaluation Students and New
Evaluators for the Profession.”

3. DC SCEP Planning
Committee
● Collaborative Planning with Students
and Mentors
● Student-led in-person & Conference
Calls
● Basecamp Communication Platform
● Conference Website
● Abstracts & General Email Addresses
● Eventbrite Registration
● Announcements
● Student Representatives - Howard,
George Mason, George Washington
Universities and University of
Maryland.
● Mentors: Rodney Hopson, Veronica
Thomas, Katherine Dawes
● Additional Faculty Mentor - Tamara
Moss, Howard University

4. DC SCEP’s
Inaugural
Conference
Friday, May 5, 2017
Location & Characteristics
● Howard University
● Theme: Advancing Social Justice in
Evaluation and Policy Integration
● One-day Conference
● $15 Student Registration
● Keynote Address, Speed Networking,
Student Presentations, Panel Discussion
Total Attendance: 83
○ Students: Howard, George Mason, George
Washington, American Universities and
University of Maryland
○ 4 AEA Presidents (1 Current)
○ 2 ASL GAO- Provided Interpreters
○ Howard University Administrators
○ Over 10 Evaluation/Policy
Organizations/Agencies
○ Washington Evaluation Sponsorship of Social
Event Post Conference

5. Student Feedback
4= Good, 5 = Excellent
4=Good, 5 = Excellent
Improvement:
● More student presentations
● Allot more time:
○ Posters
○ Presentations
○ Q&A
○ Speed Networking

6. Student
Planning
Committee
Reflections

7. Faculty/Mentor
Impressions
● Importance of mentorship and having
supportive professors
● Opportunity to collaborate across
schools and disciplines
● Provided an applied perspective for
interprofessional practice and education
in evaluation with representation from
social work, education, psychology,
economics, sociology, etc.
● Opportunity for students to interact with
industry professionals and academics
● We had a lot of support from university
administrators. Faculty did a lot of
reaching out as far as fundraising goes.
● Provided a supportive environment for
students to collaborate and lead

8. ● This conference is a great way to
foster partnerships between
universities in the same geographic
area
● Organizing a conference is hard work!
It is not just about event planning - it
requires an understanding of themes
and consistency with intended
outcomes
● More representation from other schools
in the region
● Less faculty involvement at all
stages
● Consistent stream of students
for the planning committee
● Consistent funding sources
● Staying Student-led
● Leveraging DC SCEP for
something greater - creating
social and cultural capital
● Preparing for DC SCEP 2.0
Lessons Learned and Way Forward

9. Questions? DC SCEP Website:
https://blogs.gwu.edu/dcscep/
Email address:
scepdc@gmail.com