complexity – Evaluation Uncertainty

August 18, 2022 jamorell Complex Systems, Programs, and Evaluation, System Stability and Sustainability, Uncategorized

Six principles for applying complexity to the evaluation of transformation

Motivated by a survey I was asked to complete, I spent some time distilling my thoughts about how complexity can be applied to the evaluation of transformation. It came down to six principles. I have written a lot on this topic, so if anyone wants the gory details, just ask. Evaluators deal with complexity in … Continue reading Six principles for applying complexity to the evaluation of transformation

Eat dessert first. Life is uncertain.
Good advice. True observation.

Any yet, we must soldier on, trying to predict what will happen and to explain why things work out as they do. My professional life has grappled with prediction and explanation through the lens of program evaluation. I have come to appreciate how much, and how little, evaluation can tell us. Sometimes it is “much”. Sometime is “little”. Sometimes it is “much” and “little” at the same time. This blog expresses my engagement with what evaluation can do, what it cannot do, what it should do, and what it should not do. About the graphic.