innovation

How to measure innovation? by Rick Davies

Hi, I am Rick Davies, an evaluation consultant based in Cambridge, UK. While there have been many attempts to define innovation, I am interested in definitions that make innovation evaluable. My current preference is: “Innovation is invention plus use “. While measuring the use of product or service or idea seems relatively unproblematic, measuring invention …

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Research vs Eval Week: Andrew Hayman on Research and Development for the NSF ITEST Program

I’m Andrew Hayman, Research Analyst for Hezel Associates. I’m Project Leader for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, Digital East St. Louis. The ITEST program was established in 2003 to address shortages of technology workers in the United States, supporting projects that “advance understanding …

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Research vs Eval Week: Kirk Knestis Revisiting Innovation R&D vs. Program Evaluation: What do we know two years post-Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development?

Greetings, evaluation professionals! Kirk Knestis, CEO of Hezel Associates, back this time as guest curator of an AEA365 week revisiting challenges associated with untangling purposes and methods, between evaluation and research and development (R&D) of education innovations. While this question is being worked out in other substantive areas as well, we deal with it almost …

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Kirk Knestis on How Evaluators can Help Clients with Proposals in an Innovation Research and Development (R&D) Paradigm

Kirk Knestis, CEO of Hezel Associates, back again, following up on a previous post about how evaluators’ work in STEM education settings is being influenced by the Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development introduced by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Department of Education. Hezel Associates studies education innovations so regularly supports organizations …

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Lily Zandniapour and Nicole Vicinanza on The Social Innovation Fund Evaluation Plan Guidance Document: A Tool for Building Shared Understanding of Rigorous Impact Evaluation Designs

Greetings! We are Lily Zandniapour of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and Nicole Vicinanza of JBS International.   We work together with our colleagues at CNCS and JBS to review and monitor the evaluation plans developed and implemented by programs participating in the CNCS Social Innovation Fund (SIF).   The SIF is one of …

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DE Week: Kate McKegg and Nan Wehipeihana on Talking to Clients and Communities about Developmental Evaluation

I’m Kate McKegg, Director of The Knowledge Institute Ltd a member of the Kinnect Group with Nan Wehipeihana. We want to share what we have learned about explaining developmental evaluation (DE). Evaluation isn’t something that our clients or our communities fully understand and it can create anxiety.  So, when we suggest that a client or …

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DE Week: Michael Quinn Patton on Developmental Evaluation

I am Michael Quinn Patton, author of Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use. I am an independent consultant based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  I have been doing and writing about evaluation for over 40 years.  This week features posts by colleagues and clients engaged in various developmental evaluation initiatives.  Rad Resource:Developmental …

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Veena Pankaj and Myia Welsh on Participatory Analysis: Expanding Stakeholder Involvement in Evaluation

Greetings fellow evaluators!  Our names are Veena Pankaj and Myia Welsh and we work for Innovation Network, a Washington DC-based evaluation firm.   While Innovation Network has always used a participatory approach to evaluation, we recently came to the realization that much of the ‘participatory-ness’ of our evaluation projects was limited to evaluation planning and data …

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Michael Quinn Patton on Developmental Evaluation

My name is Michael Quinn Patton and I am an independent evaluation consultant. That means I make my living meeting my clients’ information needs. Over the last few years, I have found increasing demand for innovative evaluation approaches to evaluate innovations. In other words, social innovators and funders of innovative initiatives want and need an …

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