Amoy Jacques, Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Program Evaluation (DPPPE)

What degree are you receiving? Graduate diploma in Public Policy and Program Evaluation (DPPPE)

What drew you to the diploma? What were you doing before this? I have been involved in program planning, development, and some early exposure to evaluation through research and did not have all the essential skills I needed to do evaluations with a high level of proficiency.  I decided to obtain this degree to further advance my evaluation skills particularly within non-profit and research environments.

What was the highlight of your experience? 

The highlight of my experience was gaining the confidence to transfer my evaluation skills to my new work environment at a non-profit organization which I was doing concurrently with my DPPPE studies.  I also obtained a scholarship through the Canadian Evaluation Society Evaluation Fund (CESEF) scholarship program and I was able to showcase my practicum project to the agency.

The biggest challenge?

Juggling being a full-time mom, and the demands of work and school.

What skills/knowledge are you taking into the workplace? 

I am taking how to do evaluation principles within my daily work and I just manage to wrap up conducting a process evaluation and using the lessons learned to design a performance measurement framework.

What’s next for you? 

Taking my time to master my evaluation skills, collaborating with experienced evaluators in the field and possibly one day getting my CE designation!