What American Evaluation Association does

The American Evaluation Association (AEA) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1986 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., serving an estimated 5,000-6,000 evaluation professionals in the United States. AEA operates as the field's primary professional home, providing peer-reviewed publications (American Journal of Evaluation and New Directions for Evaluation), an annual Evaluation Conference, a Summer Evaluation Institute, and year-round virtual programming through the Digital Knowledge Hub. The organization monetizes primarily through recurring annual membership dues (Regular Standard $212, E-Membership $199, Student $84-$97, CES Joint $171-$181), conference registration fees, course revenue from the PathLMS-powered Digital Knowledge Hub, tax-deductible donations, and job posting fees from a YourMembership-managed Career Center. The technology architecture is built on third-party platforms rather than proprietary systems: PathLMS for online learning, Higher Logic for the AEA Connect community platform and EvalTalk forum, and YourMembership for career services, with website administration handled by re:Members.

AEA's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, attracting and retaining members through 60+ Topical Interest Groups (TIGs), Local Affiliates, the EvalTalk discussion forum, and the flagship annual conference. Member segments include individual evaluation professionals (independent consultants, program evaluators, government and nonprofit practitioners), students and emerging evaluators served through the GEDI Program and MSI Fellowship, employer organizations using the Career Center, and government entities engaged through the Evaluation Policy Initiative. Strategic positioning emphasizes professional standards (Guiding Principles, Evaluator Competencies), diversity and inclusion commitments, and advocacy for evidence-based policymaking, including a recent letter to the White House on the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors with Dr. Karen Jackson serving as 2025 President and is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Name

American Evaluation Association

Legal name

American Evaluation Association

Website

https://eval.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The American Evaluation Association is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1986, serving 5,000-6,000 evaluation professionals through peer-reviewed journals, an annual conference, online education, and 60+ Topical Interest Groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy Evaluation & Impact Assessment Organizations (EDADADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accreditation Appeals, Arbitration & Compliance Oversight Bodies (EDADACAL)

Keywords

• Professional evaluation association
• Program evaluation training
• Peer-reviewed evaluation journals
• Annual evaluation conference
• Membership professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairhaven

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to publications (American Journal of Evaluation, New Directions for Evaluation), journals (Evaluation Review, Evaluation and the Health Professions), AEA365 blog, Topical Interest Groups, Local Affiliates, EvalTalk forum, Career Center, and Find an Evaluator tool. Membership tiers include Regular (Standard $212, E-Membership $199), 2-Year options, Joint CES memberships, and Student memberships.
2. Annual Conference and Events: Revenue from the annual Evaluation Conference featuring workshops, educational sessions, and poster presentations. Also includes Summer Evaluation Institute, Spring Virtual Workshops, and other professional development events with registration fees.
3. Educational Programs: Digital Knowledge Hub featuring Coffee Breaks (free webinars), eStudies (in-depth courses with member pricing), Eval 101, and various workshop series. Revenue from special pricing on in-depth educational courses.
4. Publications: Members receive hardcopy and electronic subscriptions to The American Journal of Evaluation (AJE) and New Directions for Evaluation (NDE). Electronic access to Evaluation Review and Evaluation and the Health Professions. Non-members receive up to 25% off publications from Corwin Press, Guilford Press, Oxford University Press, SAGE, Jossey Bass, and Wiley.
5. Donations and Giving Campaign: Tax-deductible donations supporting GEDI Program, MSI Fellowship, International Travel Awards, Student Awards, George Julnes Scholarship, Ricardo Millet Award for Racial Equity in Evaluation, and general operations. The President's Annual Funding Campaign offers $500/year pledge over 5 years.
6. Career Center Services: Third-party managed Career Center (YourMembership) where employers post jobs/RFPs. Job seekers can post resumes, search listings, and subscribe to job alerts. Revenue generated from employer job postings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

American Evaluation Association (AEA) is a professional membership association founded in 1986 that serves evaluation professionals worldwide through annual memberships, conferences, peer-reviewed publications, and continuing education programs. The organization provides access to scholarly journals (American Journal of Evaluation and New Directions for Evaluation), the AEA365 daily blog, an annual Evaluation Conference, the Digital Knowledge Hub for online learning, community platforms (EvalTalk, AEA Connect, 60+ Topical Interest Groups), and career services. AEA also runs fellowship and internship programs such as GEDI and MSI to support diversity in the evaluation profession.

Product overview

The American Evaluation Association (AEA) operates as a professional membership organization offering a comprehensive ecosystem of products and services for the evaluation community. The core offerings include peer-reviewed journals (American Journal of Evaluation and New Directions for Evaluation), the AEA365 daily blog, and the annual Evaluation Conference as the premier in-person event. AEA provides year-round professional development through the Digital Knowledge Hub (featuring Coffee Breaks, eStudies, and Eval 101 courses), the Summer Evaluation Institute, and Spring Virtual Workshops. Membership programs include the Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI), Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Fellowship, and access to 60+ Topical Interest Groups. Additional services include a Career Center job board, Find an Evaluator directory, EvalTalk discussion forum, Student Evaluation Case Competition, Town Halls, and policy advocacy resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AEA365: Daily evaluation blog offering tips and topics for evaluators
• American Journal of Evaluation (AJE)
• New Directions for Evaluation
• GEDI Program
• MSI Fellowship
• Evaluation Conference
• EvalTalk
• AEA Connect

Products and services

• AEA Membership Annual membership providing evaluation professionals with access to journals, Topical Interest Groups, Local Affiliates, EvalTalk forum, Career Center, Find an Evaluator tool, and member-only pricing on publications and courses. Available in Regular, E-Membership, 2-Year, Joint CES, and Student tiers.
• American Journal of Evaluation (AJE) Peer-reviewed scholarly journal providing research, methodologies, and best practices in program evaluation, delivered as part of membership and available in both hard copy and electronic formats.
• New Directions for Evaluation (NDE) AEA journal publication offering comprehensive analyses and scholarly content on evaluation topics, provided as a member benefit in hard copy and electronic formats.
• Annual Evaluation Conference AEA's premier annual conference featuring more than 50 workshops, hundreds of concurrent educational sessions, and poster presentations, providing networking and professional development opportunities for evaluators.
• Summer Evaluation Institute Intensive in-person workshop series providing high-caliber education in a small-group setting focused on evaluation-specific professional development issues.
• Spring Virtual Workshops Series of virtual professional development workshops delivering online learning opportunities to evaluation professionals.
• Digital Knowledge Hub Online learning platform hosted on PathLMS providing Coffee Breaks (free webinars), eStudies (in-depth paid courses with member pricing), and Eval 101 introductory courses for evaluation professional development.
• Career Center Third-party-managed job board offering resume posting, job search functionality, and tailored job alerts for evaluation professionals; employers pay to post jobs and RFPs.
• Find an Evaluator Directory Searchable directory allowing members to gain visibility for their evaluation services and enabling organizations to find and connect with qualified evaluators.
• Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) Program Paid internship and training program engaging and supporting students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the field of evaluation throughout the academic year.
• Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Fellowship Fellowship program bringing together faculty from groups traditionally under-represented in applied social sciences, public health, or education at Minority Serving Institutions for evaluation professional development.
• Student Evaluation Case Competition (SECC) Annual competition where student teams develop and present evaluation cases to panels of judges, providing hands-on practice in evaluation methodology.
• Topical Interest Groups (TIGs) Over 60 professional communities organized by topic area, allowing members to influence conference sessions and AEA initiatives and receive newsletters on their evaluation specialties.
• EvalTalk Discussion Forum Evaluation-focused discussion forum hosted on Higher Logic that enables real-time communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among evaluators with diverse backgrounds.
• AEA/MERLTech Hackathon Collaborative hackathon event bringing together evaluation professionals to develop innovative technology and methodological solutions for the evaluation field.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving 5,000+ evaluation professionals as their professional home
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Canadian Evaluation Society (CES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint membership program with Canadian Evaluation Society. CES Joint Standard Membership ($181) includes subscriptions to two hard copy and four electronic journals. CES Joint E-Membership ($171) includes electronic access. Provides cross-border professional recognition and collaboration between U.S. and Canadian evaluation professionals.
• re:MemberscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAEA has contracted with re:Members to act as a representative of AEA with respect to the AEA website. Provides administrative services and website management.
• PathLMScoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital Knowledge Hub platform provider for AEA's online education programs. Hosts Coffee Breaks, eStudies, Eval 101 courses, and virtual workshops at pathlms.com/aea.
• Higher LogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform provider for AEA Connect community platform. Powers AEA Connect, EvalTalk discussion forum, and community home library at comm.eval.org.
• Local AffiliatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional evaluation organizations affiliated with AEA. Provide local networking, professional development, and community building for evaluators in specific geographic areas.
• Publishing PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorwin Press, Guilford Press, Oxford University Press, SAGE, Jossey Bass, and Wiley. Members receive up to 25% off publications when ordered directly from these partners.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• AcademyHealth: AcademyHealth is a professional society for health services and health policy researchers, including a sizable evaluator subset. Comparable as a member-driven organization with annual conference, journals, and interest groups, but specialized in the health-services-research vertical rather than evaluation broadly.
• American Psychological Association (APA): APA is a large professional association with significant membership overlap in program evaluation, especially in social and mental health evaluation. Comparable as a member-driven scholarly society producing journals, hosting conferences, and credentialing members, but with a broader disciplinary remit.
• American Statistical Association (ASA): ASA is a much larger professional association for statisticians, with overlapping membership among quantitative evaluators. Comparable in operating a membership society with journals, conferences, and section-based communities, but broader in scope than AEA's evaluation focus.
• American Public Health Association (APHA): APHA is a large professional association whose evaluation-focused members overlap with AEA's health-program evaluator cohort. Comparable in operating a member-driven society with annual meeting, journals, and section communities, but broader in disciplinary scope.
• American Educational Research Association (AERA): AERA is the largest U.S. professional association for education researchers, with overlapping membership among evaluators working in education policy. Comparable in being a member-driven scholarly society producing peer-reviewed journals and an annual conference, but broader in scope than AEA's evaluation focus.

Direct peers

• International Evaluation Association (IEA / EvalPartners): IEA serves as the global professional home for evaluators across regions, with similar membership, conference, and publication activities. Directly comparable to AEA in mission and offerings but operates at the global rather than U.S. level, sometimes complementary and sometimes competitive.
• Canadian Evaluation Society (CES): CES is the Canadian counterpart professional association for evaluators and AEA's direct joint-membership partner. Operates a near-identical model — membership tiers, annual conference, peer-reviewed journal (Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation), and Credentialed Evaluator designation — making it the closest structural peer.

Regional players

• AEA-Europe (European Evaluation Association): Operates as the regional professional body for evaluators across Europe with member-led conferences and publications. Structurally identical to AEA in business model and member value proposition, but focused on a different geography.
• American Evaluation Association (Europe): The European Evaluation Society serves as the regional professional association for evaluators in Europe. Directly comparable in mission, membership model, and annual conference, but geographically distinct from AEA's North American base.

Emerging players

• MERLOT Network: MERLOT is a community-driven digital library and peer-review network for educational resources, with growing overlap into evaluation and instructional design. Comparable in providing a community platform for sharing professional resources, but emerging relative to AEA's established publication and conference portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aeaweb
• Facebookfacebook.com/aeaweb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Evaluation Association