The CIRCA team has worked hard in 2022 and have been buoyed by some important achievements. First and foremost, we have been energised by the positive and supportive response from our clients, who have commented on the quality of our work, our timeliness and effective communication. Some of our favourite feedback is below:
“What was really good: flexibility, timelines, clear communication, understanding our needs, the high standard of reporting and presentation, the budget and the professionalism showed by the CIRCA Team”. Alison Sentence, CEO and Kate Branson, PR & Partnerships Inclusion Coordinator, ABC Foundation. (Published CIRCA website)
“CIRCA met two very important objectives for us: delivery on time and with great quality. We are very happy with the work you have done and that is why we are working with you again”. Craig Donovan, National Director, Federal Government, Kantar Public. (Published CIRCA website)
“We were pleased with the turn-around time on this project, given the timeline was very compressed. CIRCA’s ability to quote and complete the project under these circumstances (limited time, urgent work) made a material difference to the outcome for both Ipsos and our end client. The participants you interviewed met the specifications for audiences we were looking for, which is clearly driven by your extensive networks and connections”. Stuart Clark, Director, Ipsos Public Affairs (Published CIRCA website)
Another major milestone for the CIRCA team was in relation to CIRCA’s evaluation of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) program, a national program to reduce smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year we both finalised the 2018-2022 evaluation and we were awarded the contract to undertake the evaluation of the next round of the program from 2022-2026. We have spent the second half of this year working on the planning activities for this new round, and we are feeling excited about introducing some meaningful and important changes that will make the evaluation be even more useful to our client.
Finally – a major highlight of the year was the opportunity to attend the Australian Evaluation Society (AES) conference, which was themed Weaving Evaluation into the Whole. From 30 August – 1 September, some of the CIRCA team travelled to Adelaide to attend the conference. It was the first face-to-face conference of the society since COVID, and it was a hugely energetic gathering. We met lots of other people and organisations involved in the evaluation space and gained exposure to many ideas. In particular, the conference encouraged us to continue our critical reflection on how we navigate our work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and encouraged us to articulate the value of culturally sensitive research.