About

The Trachtenberg School in GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) is a focal point for public affairs education, research, and public service at the George Washington University.

Building on a rich tradition of education for public service and on its location in the nation's capital, just a few blocks west of the White House, the GeorgeTSPPA Group, Fall 2010 Washington University offers a superior education for students wishing to pursue public affairs-oriented academic programs.

If you want to be in the heart of Washington, D.C. while you gain knowledge and skills to tackle big challenges all around the world, be part of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration on the George Washington University's Foggy Bottom campus.

The Trachtenberg School degree programs include:

The Trachtenberg School maintains close ties with the George Washington Institute of Public Policy (GWIPP), a university wide research institute whose faculty and graduate students engage in research on important policy issues and concerns.

The George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, in the Trachtenberg School, raises awareness of regulations’ effects and improves regulatory policy through research, education, and outreach.

The Trachtenberg School is closely affiliated with other research and public service institutes including:

In addition, The Trachtenberg School is affiliated and closely collaborates with, through joint staffing and administration, several other MA in Public Policy programs within the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, including:

The Trachtenberg School is a member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and NASPAA, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration.

Message from Kathy Newcomer as 2017 President of the American Evaluation Association

Kathy Newcomer HeadshotMessage from Kathy Newcomer, AEA President for 2017

I am very grateful to the organization and each of you as members for the tremendous learning opportunities I was provided this year while serving as AEA President. It was a joy and inspiration to work with others in planning and holding our Race and Class Dialogues and annual conference, as well as visit our Affiliates and other evaluation associations across the world. Thank you all for giving me this amazing experience. And a very special thanks to my conference committee of 17 who produced such an impressive program and successful video contest.
 
What a year this was! Divisive and mean-spirited politics and discourse around immigration to the United States posed challenges to the inclusive nature of our profession and our AEA community. While our political environment was incredibly distressing as one after another unprecedented event transpired, I am prouder than ever that our organization is firmly committed in our words and deeds to our core values of inclusiveness, multiculturalism, and diversity. Despite the dispiriting politics surrounding us, our 2017 conference welcomed more participants than ever before, more first-time participants than ever before, and more international attendees than ever before – from 81 countries!
 
Our conference theme, “From Learning to Action,” inspired much learning from others – from professionals outside of our profession, and from one another! I was very gratified to observe attendees engaging in sessions that stretched their minds, learning about such diverse topics as brain rules, feminist evaluation principles, sustainable development goals, the use of games to improve our practice, addressing complexity and beyond!  
 
Actions taken on AEA members’ behalf by our many leaders – working in Task Forces, Topical Interest Groups (TIGs), Affiliates, our Financial Advisory Board, our Board and many Working Groups – helped us move forward in achieving our goals, such as increasing understanding of different types of evaluation strategies, as well as their appropriate use in diverse settings. Raising the stature of the AEA as a valuable and active voice in the U.S., and helping us work even more collaboratively with other evaluation associations across the globe to promote evaluation was invaluable. I think it was a very good year for AEA.
 
But what next? I want to reiterate some of the concerns I voiced in my address on November 8. In light of the continuing bias and institutional and structural racism in our society, and the continuing divisive political environment, it is my belief we need to:
 
  • Be persistent and consistent in incorporating an equity lens when designing and evaluating all programs and policies. Relatedly, we need to be inclusive and incorporate the values of beneficiaries when defining (and refining) what program success looks like. I hope that many will benefit from the excellent video produced to help us learn from our Race and Class Dialogues. (Thank you to the Kellogg Foundation for your support of this project!)
  • Draw from our values and strengths to bring evaluative thinking into policy and program design and implementation, as well as evaluation. Embrace new ideas, “big data,” but build upon, and not replace, our ethical principles, knowledge and skills.
  • Carefully set criteria as to what constitutes sufficient evidence, and work with others to co-create our expectations of valid, reliable and relevant evidence in a multicultural setting.
  • Intentionally and strategically create learning agendas, both personally and organizationally, and reward learning from measurement and evaluation of all sorts.
  • Hold ourselves accountable to the people affected by the programs and policies we evaluate.
Thank you all for giving me an incredible learning experience and I look forward to remaining engaged in our vibrant community!
 
Warmest regards,
Kathy