complex adaptive systems

Elizabeth Kunz Kollmann and Marjorie Bequette on Fostering Successful Collaboration across Multiple Sites

Hello, we’re Elizabeth Kunz Kollmann from the Museum of Science, Boston and Marjorie Bequette from the Science Museum of Minnesota, two of the co-PIs for the study Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations (CASNET). As a part of CASNET, we’ve coordinated meetings, document sharing, and data analysis across team members located at …

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CASNET Week: Frances Lawrenz, Amy Grack Nelson, and Marjorie Bequette on Coding Framework for Studying Complex Adaptive Systems

We are Frances Lawrenz and Amy Grack Nelson, University of Minnesota, and Marjorie Bequette, Science Museum of Minnesota (where Amy works, too). We are members of the Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations (CASNET) research team. When we started this project, complexity theory seemed exciting, but daunting. What is complexity theory, you …

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CASNET Week: Jean King and Gayra Ostegaard Eliou on Applying Systems Thinking to Evaluation Capacity Building

This is Jean King and Gayra Ostegaard Eliou, from the University of Minnesota, members of the Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations (CASNET) research team. NSF funded CASNET to provide insights on (1) the implications of complexity theory for designing evaluation systems that “promote widespread and systemic use of evaluation within a …

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MNEA Week: Pat Seppanen on Evaluating Complex Adaptive Systems

My name is Pat Seppanen.  I’ve worked as an evaluator now for more than 20 years.  A good part of my practice has centered on evaluating complex change—initiatives designed to address human needs and community problems that do not fit into established program and policy categories.  If concepts like non-linearity, emergence, adaption, uncertainty, and coevolution …

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Systems Week: Heath & Lakshmanan on Using Systems Thinking to Evaluate Collaboratives

Hi, this is Barbara Heath and Aruna Lakshmanan of East Main Educational Consulting, LLC. Our group focuses on the evaluation of science, mathematics, and technology programs in K-12 schools and institutes of higher learning. Most evaluation methods assume that the organization or program being evaluated is stable, controllable, and predictable. When the organization is complex, …

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