The UK Evaluation Society is delighted to announce Ipsos as the headline sponsor of its 2026 Annual Conference, Bridging the Gap: Evaluation to Action, 18–21 May 2026 in Sheffield.
The partnership reflects a shared commitment to turning evaluation into action. The conference will bring together evaluators, commissioners, researchers and practitioners from across sectors to share learning and explore practical ways to strengthen evaluation’s influence and impact.
The Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) Evaluation Review, published in April 2025, found that while evaluation coverage across major government projects has increased significantly since 2019, there is still work to do to improve quality and consistency. Around 63 per cent of projects now have an evaluation plan in place, but only 34 per cent were judged to be of high quality.
These findings highlight both progress and the continued need to strengthen how evaluation informs policy and programme decisions, foster stronger evaluation cultures, and communicate evidence in ways that lead to meaningful, real-world change — the central themes of the 2026 conference.
Nick Posford, Executive Director, UK Evaluation Society, said:
“We’re delighted to announce Ipsos, a world-leading research agency and evaluation consultancy, as headline sponsor of our 2026 conference. The event will bring together the largest ever cross-sector gathering of UK evaluators, welcoming colleagues from the global evaluation community to exchange ideas and inspiration in Sheffield next May.
Ipsos’s depth of expertise makes them an ideal partner for four days of shared learning on how, as a community, we can drive more evidence-based decision-making, strengthen cultures of practice and communicate findings in ways that inspire action and influence change across the public, private and non-profit sectors.
These vital conversations help ensure evaluation continues to deliver public benefit by improving policies, programmes and outcomes that affect people’s everyday lives.”
Laura Hayward, Deputy Head of Evaluation, Ipsos, said:
“As Deputy Head of Evaluation at Ipsos, I’m thrilled that we are headline sponsor of the UK Evaluation Society (UKES) 2026 conference, building on our longstanding partnership through the annual conference.
The themes—influencing policy and programmes, building evaluation cultures, and communicating evidence for impact—are central to how we work. They speak to Ipsos’s market‑leading role over the past 15 years, the impact our research has in practice, and the growth of our specialist evaluation team from 7 to 70.
We’re proud to support UKES in advancing excellence across the profession and in turning robust evidence into better decisions for people and communities across the UK.”
With thought-provoking keynotes, practical sessions and plenty of opportunities to connect and collaborate, the conference promises to be a landmark event for the evaluation community.
The UK Evaluation Society’s 2026 Annual Conference, Bridging the Gap: Evaluation to Action, takes place from 18 to 21 May 2026. The call for abstracts is open until 17 November at 11:59 PM, and a limited number of Super Early Bird tickets are available until December 31, 2025.
conference 2026
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Notes to editors:
- The UK Evaluation Society (UKES) is the membership body for evaluators in the UK, supporting individuals and organisations to improve the quality and use of evaluation.
- Ipsos is a global social and market research company. We deliver reliable information for a true understanding of Society, Markets and People, to help the world make better decisions.
- Source: HM Government, Government Major Projects Portfolio Evaluation Review, Evaluation Task Force, April 2025. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-major-projects-evaluation-review