Canadian Evaluation Society

What Canadian Evaluation Society does

The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) is a federally-incorporated nonprofit professional membership organization headquartered in Renfrew, Ontario, that serves the evaluation profession across Canada and internationally. With a community of over 1,400 members distributed across 12 regional chapters covering all Canadian provinces and territories, CES operates fully bilingually in English and French and functions as the only professional society in Canada specifically dedicated to evaluation. Its member base spans evaluation professionals in government, non-profit, academic, and private sectors, alongside students, emerging practitioners, and CE-credentialed evaluators.

CES's core product portfolio centers on four assets: the e-Institute/Cyberinstitut online learning platform offering self-paced and facilitated courses (priced at $600–$700 per facilitated course); the Credentialed Evaluator (CE) designation, which is the sole recognized professional credential for evaluators in Canada; the bilingual peer-reviewed Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, hosted in partnership with the University of Victoria; and the Grey Literature Database, a searchable evaluation literature resource. Supporting services include the Annual National Conference (C2026 in Edmonton), the Mentoring Initiative, the Student and Emerging Evaluator Network (SEEN), Communities of Interest (Independent Consulting, Evaluation Teaching, Environmental Sustainability), a member portal with profile/directory/invoice functionality, and a job-posting service. The technology stack is a standard web-based membership and learning management system augmented by an AI-powered multilingual chatbot.

The business model is subscription-recurring membership-driven, with individual annual dues of $245 (effective July 2026, up from $195 unchanged since 2014), reduced rates of $125 for students, emerging practitioners, members over 60, non-profits, and Southern-country residents, supplemented by transactional revenue from conference registrations, workshop fees, sponsorships, course sales, and chapter events. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging chapters, word-of-mouth referrals, an annual conference, webinars, weekly e-blasts, and a social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. CES holds PIPEDA compliance for personal information handling and is governed by an elected board of directors.

Name

Canadian Evaluation Society

Legal name

Canadian Evaluation Society

Website

https://evaluationcanada.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Canadian Evaluation Society is a bilingual, nonprofit professional membership organization serving over 1,400 evaluators across Canada through 12 regional chapters, offering the e-Institute learning platform, the CE professional designation, the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, and an annual national conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Society and Evaluation Credentialing Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Educational Services (611), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

Keywords

• Professional evaluation society
• Evaluator credentialing programs
• Online learning courses
• Professional development training
• Evaluation research publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Renfrew

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees provide the primary recurring revenue stream. Individual membership is $245 (effective July 2026), with reduced rates for students ($125), emerging practitioners ($125), members over 60 ($125), non-profits ($125), and Southern country residents ($125).
2. Annual Conference Revenue: The national conference generates revenue through registration fees, workshop fees, sponsorships, and exhibit fees.
3. e-Institute Course Sales: Revenue from selling professional development courses ranging from $600-$700 per course for facilitated courses.
4. CE Designation Program: Credentialed Evaluator designation provides professional recognition and may include application and maintenance fees.
5. Chapter Events and Workshops: Local chapters organize events that may include registration fees for professional development workshops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) is a nonprofit professional membership society for evaluators in Canada. It sells annual individual memberships ($245/year), reduced-rate memberships for students/emerging evaluators/seniors/non-profits ($125/year), the Credentialed Evaluator (CE) professional designation, facilitated and self-paced online courses through the e-Institute/Cyberinstitut, registration to the annual national conference, access to the bilingual peer-reviewed Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (CJPE), and access to the Grey Literature Database. Additional services include mentoring, the Student and Emerging Evaluator Network (SEEN), and 12 regional chapters.

Product overview

The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) operates as a professional membership organization offering a portfolio of services for evaluators across Canada. The core offerings include the e-Institute/Cyberinstitut online learning platform providing self-paced and facilitated courses; the CE Designation (Credentialed Evaluator) professional certification program; the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation academic publication; and the Grey Literature Database knowledge resource. Additional services include the Annual National Conference (C2026), the Mentoring Initiative with individual and group options, the Student and Emerging Evaluator Network (SEEN), regional chapter networks across 12 Canadian regions, a member portal with various self-service features, and career/job posting services. These services work together to support professional development, credentialing, networking, and career advancement for the evaluation profession.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual CES Membership Annual membership for individual evaluation professionals in Canada, providing access to member benefits including the member directory, e-Institute courses, webinars, conferences, Grey Literature Database, CE Designation eligibility, mentorship, and the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation.
• Reduced-Rate CES Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Community of over 1,400 members across Canada and abroad
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Hotıì ts'eedacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026Partnership with Hotıì ts'eeda and Indigenous evaluators Dr. Kim van der Woerd and Sofia Vitalis of Reciprocal Consulting to develop the Truth and Reconciliation for Evaluation course. This collaboration demonstrates CES's commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous sovereignty in evaluation practice.
• Reciprocal ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocal Consulting, an award-winning Indigenous management consulting firm specializing in evaluation and research, co-developed the Truth and Reconciliation for Evaluation course with Hotıì ts'eeda and CES.
• Ference & Company ConsultingflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum partner for C2026 conference, providing exceptional support and continued partnership with CES.
• Bureau indépendant d'évaluation du Fonds pour l'environnement mondialflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum partner for C2026 conference.
• R.A. Malatest and AssociatesflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum partner for C2026 conference, providing continued partnership support.
• Three Hive ConsultingflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum partner for C2026 conference.
• DPM ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDPM Research conducted the Identity and Demographic Data project for CES, led by a subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
• University of VictoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Victoria journals platform hosts the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (CJPE), CES's peer-reviewed bilingual journal.
• Fonds de la Société canadienne d'évaluation pour l'éducation (FSCÉÉ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CES Education Fund is an independent non-profit that provides scholarships and learning opportunities for students and emerging evaluators in Canada. CES works with FSCÉÉ on the case study competition and student awards.
• Consortium des universités pour l'enseignement de l'évaluation (CUEÉ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCUEÉ aims to improve access to quality graduate-level education in evaluation and facilitate communication and collaboration among educators.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• BetterEvaluation: An international collaborative that publishes evaluation methods, resources, and training — overlapping with CES's e-Institute and Grey Literature Database offerings for the same evaluator audience.

Regional players

• International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS): Global community of evaluation professionals focused on international development, intersecting with CES's evaluation mandate and competing for the same professional development and conference spend.
• European Evaluation Society: Pan-European professional society for evaluation, organizing the European Evaluation Society biennial conference and providing a continental counterpart to CES's national offering.
• Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (anzea): New Zealand's national evaluation association, providing a comparable membership, conference, and credentialing model to CES but focused on the Aotearoa evaluation community.
• Australasian Evaluation Society: Professional society for evaluators across Australia and New Zealand with a similar conference, publication, and chapter model — a regional peer serving a non-overlapping geography.
• African Evaluation Association: Continental professional society for evaluators across Africa, offering conferences and capacity building for evaluation professionals — a geographic peer running a similar professional-society model outside Canada.

Direct peers

• American Evaluation Association: The largest professional evaluation association in the world, offering the same combination of credentialing, conferences (Annual Conference), publications (American Journal of Evaluation), and topical communities that CES provides — but at materially greater scale and US-focused.
• UK Evaluation Society: The UK's national professional society for evaluators, offering membership, events, and communities of practice for evaluation professionals — structurally analogous to CES and a direct cross-border peer.

Broad incumbents

• World Organization for Evaluation: Global umbrella organization working to strengthen evaluation capacity and policy — overlaps thematically with CES's credentialing, standards, and advocacy mission but at a higher, cross-national level.
• International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation: Global body coordinating national and regional evaluation societies, including CES peers — broader in scope than CES but operates as an umbrella for the same professional community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/evaluationcanada.ca
• Facebookfacebook.com/ces.sce
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/31457558

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Canadian Evaluation Society