The Competition & Cases — Student Evaluation Case Competition
 

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The Competition & Cases

More Information
Case Archive Past Submissions Rules FAQ Past Finalists

Competition Overview

How does the Case Competition Work?

The case competition has two rounds: the preliminary round and the final round. In the preliminary round, teams of students (see General Rules for further specifications on team rules) are given a novel request for proposals and have 5.5 hours to prepare a response. Submissions are evaluated by a bilingual panel of three experienced evaluators across Canada.

New for 2025 (and all future virtual competitions) - The top three teams participate in a virtual final round at the Canadian Evaluation Society Annual Conference. Teams turn their written proposal into a presentation and revise their ideas in response to new requests from the sponsoring organization. Students will be challenged to demonstrate project management skills, including navigating scope creep and client expectations and managing evaluation resources. The top 3 teams will receive full registration to the CES conference, along with a team $500 prize. Read below for more information.

The winning team will be invited to represent Canada in the World Evaluation Case Competition that takes place online in November.

Download our new guide for Coaches and Participants here.

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Preliminary Round

For the preliminary round, each team is required to provide their own work space with an internet connection and any materials they might need (e.g., white board, chart paper, printer) to prepare their submission. Teams can explore any public information that would be accessible by a consulting group (such as websites, articles, etc.).

Explore the general procedure of the preliminary round below, or contact us for more information.

Receiving the Case

When you register your team, you selected a contact person. The day before the competition, the contact person will be sent an email with a team identification number and a website link to the case.

You may start the competition on the Preliminary Round Competition Day at a time of your choosing by accessing the website you received the day before the competition. There is no designated start time. Once this website is accessed on the Preliminary Round Competition Day, your team will have 5.5 hours to complete the case and upload your submission to the same website.

Preparing your Submission

Your completed submission will be uploaded to the same website that you used to access the case. Your submission must be sent as one PDF document (not a zipped file of multiple documents). Submissions should be concise; the judges are looking for quality, not quantity!

Keep your Submission Anonymous

It is important that the judges do not know the real identity of the teams who prepared submissions. Your team should only identify yourself using the team name that you registered with. Your submission should also not include any potential identifying information such as names of colleges or universities, cities, or provinces.

Criteria for Scoring

The case you receive will provide a detailed breakdown of how the submission will be scored. In general, the judges will evaluate your understanding of the program, the appropriateness and completeness of the logic model and/or evaluation matrix, appropriateness of the evaluation design, data collection and analysis plan, the assessment of challenges and potential solutions, level of innovation shown, and the overall quality of the proposal including writing style and presentation. Teams are usually required to discuss 1-3 relevant evaluation competencies. See sample cases for examples of detailed criteria.

Receiving Feedback on your Submission

The judges may take up to one month to review the submissions and select the top three teams. Each team will receive feedback on their submission.

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Final Round

The final round takes place at the Canadian Evaluation Society Annual Conference. The Canadian Evaluation Society and the Educational Fund will provide free conference registration for finalists, along with a year-long CES membership. Each finalist team will also be awarded a $500 prize to be shared among team members.

Explore the general procedure of the final round below, or contact us for more information.

Final Round Instructions

You will receive feedback from the 3 judges on your Round 1 submission one week before the conference. At this time, you will also receive an update from the sponsoring organization with additional information they would like your consulting firm to address in your response to proposal. You have will have one week to create your final presentation that incorporates feedback from the judges and addresses the emerging needs of the organization.

Pre-Competition Meeting

The day before the competition, all three teams and their coaches will meet with the organizers on Zoom. We will go over the general format for Round 2 and complete a tech-check.

Submitting Your Presentation

You will submit your presentation to the organizing committee on Monday May 12 by 3pm EST. Presentations should be submitted by email to casecomp@evaluationcanada.ca.

Giving Your Presentation

You will have 20 minutes to present your revised submission, followed by a 15-minute question and answer period with the judges. Audience members may also ask questions if time permits.

Scoring and Feedback

The judges will assess your presentation on how thoroughly your team addressed the revised evaluation requirements from the sponsor organization, the quality of your presentation, and team members’ involvement and collaboration in the presentation and question period. After the judges have deliberated, they will meet with all three teams and coaches to provide verbal feedback. Feedback will be provided to each team on zoom a little while after each team has presented.