The Student and Emerging Evaluator advancing Knowledge (SEEK) Award builds on the previous Student Paper Contest and earlier versions of the SEEK award and recognizes student and emerging evaluator excellence contributing to the advancement of evaluation theory and/or practice. SEEK is a joint initiative of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) and the Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund (CESEF) designed to foster student and emerging evaluator engagement in evaluation, profile evaluation-related work conducted by students and emerging evaluators.
 

Benefits

The SEEK Award honours up to two exemplary submissions per year. When the CES annual conference is in-person: One SEEK award will be offered. When the CES annual conference is online: Up to two SEEK awards will be offered of one finalist and one runner-up.
 

2026 SEEK Award Winner

• Cash award of $500.00;

• Reimbursement of up to $1,500 for domestic travel, accommodation, and meals to attend the annual national Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Conference*, in accordance with CES travel guidelines;

• CES student membership and conference registration;

• Presentation of Award at a plenary session at the CES Conference;

• Publication of project abstract in a CES Web news broadcast;

• Invitation to present a paper session at the CES Conference;

• Invitation to meet the CESEF Board of Directors; and

• Mentorship to prepare a practice note for the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (CJPE) based on the work submitted for the SEEK award

*2026 Conference: In-person; Location: Edmonton, Alberta; When: May 24-27, 2026
 

Objectives

The SEEK Award is intended to increase evaluation capacity in Canada by fostering student and emerging evaluator involvement, profiling new and exceptional contributions to the field, considering diverse contributions that advance evaluation theory and/or practice, and providing exposure to promising students.

 

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be registered at the time of application as a full- or part-time student in a Canadian post-secondary institution OR have entered the field of evaluation in the last five years and be working in Canada/ for a Canadian organization

• Submit a paper of no more than 3,000 words focusing on a subject of importance to evaluation practice. Papers should focus on innovative practices or lessons learned that will be of interest to the field of evaluation. They should not simply summarize or share the findings of an evaluation
   

Applicants are encouraged to look at examples of practice notes in the CJPE for an idea of the style of papers that will be successful in the SEEK competition.
 

Individual or multi-author will be considered. In the case of multi-author projects, the cash award is shared. If a group project is selected to receive a SEEK Award, one member of the group will be financially supported to attend the CES Conference and receive the Award on behalf of the group.
 

Papers can be submitted in English or French.
 

Applicants are permitted to use the tools they have available to them, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tools. However, the use of AI must be declared in the application. In addition, the named applicant(s) is (are) ultimately accountable for the complete contents of their application.