Australian Evaluation Society

What Australian Evaluation Society does

The Australian Evaluation Society (AES) is a non-profit professional membership organisation founded in 1982 and headquartered at 425 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Victoria, that serves as the peak professional body for evaluators across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the broader Australasian region. Its mission is to strengthen and promote evaluation practice, theory, and use, delivered through a portfolio that includes the peer-reviewed Evaluation Journal of Australasia (EJA, distributed by SAGE Publishing with member-only access to a six-journal SAGE bundle), the flagship annual International Evaluation Conference (aes26 scheduled 14–18 September 2026 in Darwin), a year-round programme of professional learning workshops covering AI in evaluation, qualitative and quantitative methods, ethical practice, and systems transformation, and a Group Mentoring / EvaluAdd buddying scheme. Supporting programmes include the Evaluators' Professional Learning Competency Framework, the First Nations Cultural Safety Framework, Ethical Guidelines under review, a Consultants Directory, evaluation job vacancies and tender listings, Special Interest Groups, Regional Networks across all Australian states and territories plus New Zealand, the AES Voices social media series, the AES Blog, and the AES Awards for Excellence and Fellows programs. Revenue is generated from individual, organisational and student membership subscriptions, conference and workshop registration fees (members A$1,260–1,855 for a three-day pass; full-day workshops A$475–599), tiered conference sponsorships (Gold/Silver/Bronze), paid job/tender listings, and tax-deductible Conference Support Grants donations, with payments processed via eWAY and conference registration managed on EventsAir. AES is governed by a Board, operates under Strategic Plan 2024–2028, holds ABN 13 886 280 969 and ACN 606 044 624, employs approximately 32 staff, and runs no externally owned subsidiaries or venture-backed funding rounds.

Name

Australian Evaluation Society

Legal name

Australian Evaluation Society Limited

Website

https://aes.asn.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Australian Evaluation Society is the peak professional membership body for evaluators in Australia and the broader Australasian region, operating since 1982 to set competency, ethical and cultural safety standards, publish the Evaluation Journal of Australasia, and convene the annual International Evaluation Conference for government, consultancy, academic, and not-for-profit practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fitzroy

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership subscriptions for individuals and organisations. Membership categories include Individual Member, Organisational Member (institutional), and student membership. Benefits include journal access, professional development events, awards, SIGs, regional networks, EvaluAdd buddying program, and discounted conference/workshop rates.
2. Annual International Evaluation Conference: Revenue from conference registrations across multiple categories (member, non-member, student, small charity) with tiered pricing (early bird, standard, late). Includes workshop registrations, social function tickets (Welcome Reception A$129, Gala Awards Dinner A$239), and accommodation bookings managed through the registration platform. 3-day conference: A$1,260–1,855 for members; A$1,825–2,200 for non-members.
3. Pre-Conference Workshops: Revenue from professional learning workshops delivered ahead of the annual conference. Full-day workshops: A$475–599; half-day workshops: A$275–385 (varies by tier/type). Workshops are offered at foundation, intermediate, and advanced levels covering topics such as AI in evaluation, systems transformation, qualitative/quantitative methods, ethical practice, and game design thinking.
4. Evaluation Job Vacancies and Tenders Listings: A paid listing service where organisations can post evaluation job vacancies and tender opportunities to the AES audience of professional evaluators. Revenue generated through registration fees for job ads and tender listings.
5. Conference Support Grants Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organisations to support Emerging Indigenous Evaluators' participation in the annual conference. Donation tiers: A$10, A$20, A$50, A$100, A$250, A$500, A$1,000.
6. Conference Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from organisations supporting the annual International Evaluation Conference. Sponsorship tiers include Gold (delegate lanyards, gathering lounge), Silver (refreshment breaks, solutions hub, digital conference app), and Bronze (speaker prep room, award supporters). Sponsors include ARTD, Rooftop Social, Where*to*|Ipsos, Grosvenor, Bellberry, Iris Ethics, and Program Evaluation Services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AES is the peak professional body for evaluators in Australasia, providing Individual and Organisational Membership subscriptions, peer-reviewed publication of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia (EJA) in partnership with SAGE Publishing, the Annual International Evaluation Conference with Pre-Conference Workshops, year-round Professional Learning Events, the Group Mentoring Program, the Consultants Directory, Evaluation Job Vacancies, Evaluation Tenders, the First Nations Cultural Safety Framework, the Evaluators Professional Learning Competency Framework, and the AES Ethical Guidelines.

Product overview

The Australian Evaluation Society (AES) operates as a professional membership organization offering a unified portfolio of products and services centered on strengthening evaluation practice, theory, and use in Australasia. The core offering comprises the peer-reviewed Evaluation Journal of Australasia (published quarterly by SAGE Publishing with exclusive member access), the flagship Annual International Evaluation Conference (next scheduled for September 2026 in Darwin), and structured Professional Learning Events including workshops on AI in evaluation, systems transformation, and ethical practice. Supporting offerings include a Consultants Directory, the Evaluators Professional Learning Competency Framework, AES Awards for Excellence, the AES Fellows Program, and Conference Support Grants for Emerging Indigenous Evaluators. The AES also provides a First Nations Cultural Safety Framework with associated workshops, Ethical Guidelines (currently under review), a Group Mentoring Program, the EvaluAdd Buddying Program, Special Interest Groups, Regional Networks, and the AES Blog communications platform. These products and services work together to serve evaluators, commissioners, and organizations across government, consultancy, academia, and the not-for-profit sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Evaluation Journal of Australasia (EJA): Peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by SAGE Publishing, furthering the aims of AES in promoting theory, research, and practice of evaluation.
• AES Fellows
• AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation
• EvaluAdd Buddying Program
• aes26 International Evaluation Conference

Products and services

• Individual AES Membership Annual membership subscription for individual evaluators providing access to the Evaluation Journal of Australasia, member rates for events and workshops, voting rights, and access to Special Interest Groups and member-only resources.
• Organisational AES Membership Annual membership subscription for organisations employing evaluators, providing multiple individual member seats, organisational listing, and discounted access to events and programs.
• Evaluation Journal of Australasia (EJA) Peer-reviewed academic journal on evaluation theory and practice, published in partnership with SAGE Publishing and distributed to AES members as part of their membership benefits.
• Annual International Evaluation Conference Annual flagship conference bringing together evaluators from Australia, New Zealand, and internationally for presentations, workshops, and networking, with registration fees for members and non-members.
• Pre-Conference Workshops Skill-building workshops held in conjunction with the Annual International Evaluation Conference, available to conference attendees for an additional fee.
• Professional Learning Events Online and in-person professional development workshops and webinars offered throughout the year on evaluation topics, available for registration by members and non-members.
• Group Mentoring Program Structured group mentoring program pairing emerging evaluators with experienced practitioners for career development, knowledge transfer, and professional networking within the AES community.
• Consultants Directory Listing Paid directory listing service allowing evaluation consultants and consultancies to promote their services to potential clients searching the AES directory for qualified evaluators.
• First Nations Cultural Safety Framework Workshops Workshops based on the AES First Nations Cultural Safety Framework, supporting culturally safe evaluation practice with Indigenous communities across Australia and New Zealand.
• Evaluation Job Vacancies Posting Paid job posting service for evaluation positions, providing visibility to AES members and the broader evaluator community seeking employment in the evaluation profession.
• Evaluation Tenders Posting Paid tender and RFP posting service for evaluation contracts, allowing commissioning organisations to reach qualified evaluators and consultancies across Australasia.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Conference Support Grants (CSG) program has enabled multiple emerging Indigenous evaluators from Australasia to develop evaluation skills, knowledge and professional networks over the past five years.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, significant and minor.

• SAGE PublishingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAGE Publishing is the journal publisher for the Evaluation Journal of Australasia (EJA), AES's peer-reviewed quarterly journal published on 1 September, 1 December, 1 March, and 1 June. As part of the partnership, AES members receive full access to the current EJA issue, the full back-catalogue, and six additional SAGE evaluation-related journals (AlterNative, Evaluation, Evaluation Review, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Research, Evaluation and the Health Professions). SAGE also handles non-member subscriptions and article sales.
• Qantas (Exclusive Airline Partner)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerQantas is the exclusive airline partner for the aes26 International Evaluation Conference (September 2026, Darwin). Qantas offers registered delegates and travel partners special discounted airfares booked through a dedicated Qantas conference booking portal. Delegates access the conference discount code by emailing [email protected]. This partnership facilitates international and domestic delegate attendance at the conference.
• Darwin Convention CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Darwin Convention Centre is the venue for the aes26 International Evaluation Conference (14–18 September 2026). Located on spectacular Darwin Harbour in the tropical Darwin Waterfront Precinct, the venue is a fully accessible facility that hosts the conference workshops (Monday–Tuesday 14–15 September) and main conference sessions (Wednesday–Friday 16–18 September), the Welcome Reception (Frangipani Plaza), and registration. The venue is acknowledged as being on Larrakia Country (Garramilla).
• ARTD (Gold Sponsor – Delegate Lanyard)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerARTD is a medium-sized Australian-owned company supporting government agencies and not-for-profits with evaluative thinking, design and evaluation services. They are a Gold Sponsor of aes26 providing delegate lanyards. With over 35 years of strategic evaluation experience, ARTD sponsors the conference as part of their commitment to the evaluation community and advancing evaluation practice.
• Rooftop Social (Gold Sponsor – Gathering Lounge)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerRooftop Social is a leading provider of evaluation, research, and facilitation services across Australia, with expertise in designing evaluation frameworks, building evaluation capacity, and facilitating participatory design for social innovation. Since 2013, their 'evidence for good' mission guides partnerships with government and for-purpose organisations in education, justice, environment, health, and human services. Gold sponsor of aes26 for the Gathering Lounge.
• Where*to* | Ipsos (Silver Sponsor – Refreshment Breaks)significantGTM or Marketing PartnerWhere*to* | Ipsos has provided high-quality social research and evaluation services to governments for over 20 years. Their partnership with Ipsos Global Public Affairs brings expertise across government and civil sector worldwide, addressing complex policy challenges and providing experimental design and economic evaluation services. Silver sponsor of aes26 for Refreshment Breaks.
• Grosvenor (Silver Sponsor – Solutions Hub)significantGTM or Marketing PartnerGrosvenor delivers independent, practical program evaluation for the public sector. They partner with clients to develop fit-for-purpose frameworks and evaluation plans, and focus on building lasting capability through tailored systems and learning supports. They have supported the AES International Evaluation Conference for many years as part of their commitment to advancing better evaluation practice.
• Bellberry (Silver Sponsor – Digital Conference App)significantGTM or Marketing PartnerBellberry Limited is an Australian award-winning independent not-for-profit organisation offering Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) services, providing high-quality, time-efficient, and internationally accredited review of research projects. The sole AAHRPP 'gold seal' accredited HREC in Australia. In 2024, Bellberry was the national winner of the Telstra Best of Business award for Championing Health. Silver sponsor of aes26 for the Digital Conference App.
• Iris Ethics (Bronze Sponsor – Speaker Prep Room)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerIris Ethics is Australia's leading open-access Human Research Ethics Committee specialising in evaluation, social research, and market research. Operates on an on-demand basis with a 10-business day turnaround for full committee reviews and 5 business days for lower-risk applications. Also offers a freely accessible resource library. Managed by Gerard Atkinson, AES workshop facilitator and independent evaluation consultant. Bronze sponsor of aes26 for the Speaker Prep Room.
• Program Evaluation Services (Bronze Sponsor – Emerging New Talent Award)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProgram Evaluation Services (PES) is a small consulting business based in Perth, Western Australia, run by Prof Rick Cummings. It provides evaluation services at state and national level as well as training in evaluative thinking, program logic, monitoring, and evaluation. Bronze sponsor of aes26 supporting the Emerging New Talent Award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Canadian Evaluation Society / Société canadienne d'évaluation: National bilingual professional society for evaluators in Canada with similar Commonwealth heritage, offering annual conferences, Credentialed Evaluator designation, member competencies, and chapter-based regional structure - closely aligned to AES in model and member offerings.
• Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (ANZEA): New Zealand's national evaluation association, offering member benefits, an evaluation journal (Mai Review), conferences, and Indigenous evaluation focus - serves the same Australasian evaluator community that AES also covers, making it the closest regional peer.
• UK Evaluation Society: UK national professional body for evaluators running annual conferences, member subscriptions, special interest groups, and ethical guidelines for evaluation practice. Direct peer in the Anglosphere evaluation society ecosystem.
• American Evaluation Association: Preeminent national professional society for evaluators in the United States, operating an annual conference, peer-reviewed journals (American Journal of Evaluation), member-driven competency frameworks, awards/fellowships, and an Ethical Guidelines program. Most directly comparable peer in scale, scope, and operating model to AES.

Regional players

• European Evaluation Society: Regional umbrella body coordinating European evaluation associations, running the biennial European Evaluation Conference. Functions as a federation of national societies akin to AES's role within Australasia, and competes for the same international presenter pool at conferences.
• African Evaluation Association (AfrEA): Continental professional evaluation society covering African evaluators, with a biennial conference and member-driven country chapters. Comparable to AES as a regional society organising flagship conferences and capacity-building, but operating in a different geography.

Others

• Australasian Evaluation Society (former name) / AES: Noted as AES itself was previously known as 'Australasian Evaluation Society', indicating a more explicit pan-regional identity that has since narrowed to 'Australian' in branding - a potential branding tension relevant to pan-Australasian peer positioning.

Emerging players

• Better Evaluation: Global open-access resource providing free evaluation methods, tools, and frameworks. While not a direct membership-society competitor, it provides free substitutes that could pressure AES paid workshop revenue and membership value proposition for budget-sensitive evaluators.
• International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE): Global voluntary umbrella of national Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs). IOCE serves as the international connector for societies like AES and influences global evaluator capacity building, but is not itself a membership-services competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Project Management Institute (PMI): Large global professional membership association for project managers offering certifications (PMP), chapters, annual events, and a peer-reviewed journal - illustrates a scaled version of the professional-society model that AES aspires to in evaluation. Useful reference point for membership economy and certification monetisation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AusEval
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-evaluation-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Evaluation Society