Recently have been pushing the notion that one reason why programs have unintended consequences, and why those consequences tend to be undesirable, is because programs attempt to maximize outcomes that are highly correlated, to the detriment of multiple other benchmarks that recipients of program services need to meet in order to thrive. Details of what … Continue reading Another post on joint optimization of uncorrelated program goals as a way to minimize unintended negative consequences
Ideological diversity in Evaluation. We don’t have it, and we do need it
Evaluation cannot serve the social good without a wider range of ideological points of view informing its theory and practice.
Invitation to a Conversation Between Program Funders and Program Evaluators: Complex Behavior in Program Design and Evaluation
Effective programs and effective evaluations require an appreciation of complex behavior. Evaluators cannot address complexity unless program funders do.
Joint Optimization of Uncorrelated Outcomes as a Method for Minimizing Undesirable Consequences of Program Action
This blog post is a pitch for a different way to identify desired program outcomes. Program Theories as they are Presently Constructed Go into your archives and pull out your favorite logic models. Or dip into the evaluation literature and find models you like. You will find lots of variability among them in terms of: … Continue reading Joint Optimization of Uncorrelated Outcomes as a Method for Minimizing Undesirable Consequences of Program Action
A simple recipe for improving the odds of sustainability: A systems perspective
I have been to a lot of conferences that had many sessions on ways to assure program sustainability. There is also a lot of really good research literature on this topic. Also, sustainability is a topic that has been front and center in my own work of late. Analyses and explanations of sustainability inevitably end … Continue reading A simple recipe for improving the odds of sustainability: A systems perspective
Agent-based Evaluation Guiding Implementation of Solar Technology
AEGIS: Agent-based Evaluation Guiding Implementation of Solar DE-FOA-0001496: SOLAR ENERGY EVOLUTION AND DIFFUSION STUDIES II - STATE ENERGY STRATEGIES (SEEDSII-SES) Business contact: Mr. Vijay Kohli President Syntek Technologies 703.522.1025 ext. 201 vkohli@syntek.org Technical contact: Jonathan A. Morell, Ph.D. Director of Evaluation Syntek Technologies 734 646-8622 jmorell@syntek.org Confidentiality statement:This proposal includes information and data that … Continue reading Agent-based Evaluation Guiding Implementation of Solar Technology
Things to think about when observing programs from a systems perspective
A friend of mine (Donna Podems) is heading up a project that involves providing a structure for a group of on-the-ground observers so they can apply a systems perspective to understanding what programs are doing and what they are accomplishing. She asked me for a brain dump, which I happily provided. What follows is by … Continue reading Things to think about when observing programs from a systems perspective
Depicting Complexity in 2-D
There is an interesting discussion going on in the Linked-In discussion group of the European Evaluation Society with respect to a question someone asked: How do linear models address the complexity in which we work? I can’t help but to weigh in. I also placed a link to this blog post on the EES discussion … Continue reading Depicting Complexity in 2-D
Drawing on Complexity to do Hands-on Evaluation (Part 3) – Turning the Wrench
This is the third of three blog posts I am writing to help me understand how “complexity” can be used in evaluation.
Drawing on Complexity to do Hands-on Evaluation (Part 2) – Complexity in Program Operation, Simplicity in Program Design
This is the second of three blog posts I am writing to help me understand how “complexity” can be used in evaluation.
Evaluation Uncertainty 