Hi, I’m Meg Hargreaves, a Senior Fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago, a member of the Systems in Evaluation TIG (SETIG), and member of the work team that developed the 2018 Principles for Effective Use of Systems Thinking in Evaluation. The principles are an important resource in my work as an evaluator of …
I am Michael Quinn Patton, founder and director of Utilization-Focused Evaluation, and author of Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use. As an independent consultant I make my living doing evaluation. In order to engage stakeholders in evaluation processes, I have to be able to explain important concepts like complexity and systems …
Hello! I am Heather Britt, 2015-2018 Co-Chair of the Systems in Evaluation TIG (SETIG). This week’s blogs will describe how guiding principles can strengthen systems-informed evaluation practice. The SETIG is celebrating a major milestone! Through a multi-year collaborative process, members produced the 2018 Principles for Effective Use of Systems Thinking in Evaluation to support evaluators …
Hi, I’m Bethany Laursen, interdisciplinarity consultant and chair of the 2016 Systems in Evaluation TIG (Un)Conference coordinating committee. When SETIG was searching for a community learning activity, we chose the unconference format to demonstrate the systems principles our TIG emphasizes. An unconference applies Open Space Technology to group meetings. Instead of a predetermined program with …
I’m Jennifer Lawlor, volunteer promotions coordinator for the annual Systems in Evaluation (Un)Conference. The AEA Systems in Evaluation TIG invites evaluators around the world to participate in this collaborative learning event on June 21, 2016. This year’s (Un)Conference theme will align with AEA’s annual conference theme, Evaluation + Design. Unlike a typical conference, an unconference …
Hello! I’m Kylie Hutchinson (a.k.a. @EvaluationMaven), independent evaluation consultant with Community Solutions Planning & Evaluation and volunteer member of the 2016 Systems in Evaluation (Un)Conference coordinating committee. The day I completed my first real system map felt like a real accomplishment. A system map visually depicts the various elements present in a given system and …
Systems in Eval TIG: Kylie Hutchinson on Interpreting Systems Maps Read More »
I’m Srik Gopal and I co-lead the Strategic Learning and Evaluation practice at FSG, a social impact consulting firm. We engage with a variety of clients – foundations, nonprofits, and companies – in designing and implementing evaluations with a systems lens. In this post, I talk about using system mapping as a tool to support …
Systems in Eval TIG: Srik Gopal on Using System Mapping as a Tool in Evaluation Read More »
I’m Brandon Coffee-Borden, an Associate at Community Science and Program Co-chair for the Systems in Evaluation TIG. In this post, I will discuss the use of social network analysis (SNA) as a way to describe and analyze systems. SNA is an approach to understanding structures and connections through the use of network theory. Networks are …
Hi! My name is Jan Noga and I am the owner of Pathfinder Evaluation and Consulting in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m also a long-time member of the Systems TIG and user of systems thinking in my evaluation practice. A systems perspective for evaluation provides incredible insight into the “how” and “why” of program outcomes, generating rich …
Systems in Eval TIG: Jan Noga on Speaking “Systems” with Non-Systems Folks Read More »
Greetings! This is Scott Pattison and Melanie Francisco from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Juli Goss from the Museum of Science, Boston. We are part of the research team for the NSF-funded Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations (CASNET) project. Today we’re focusing on how project leaders and senior …
