Innovation at the speed of coffeeCensemaking

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Better Systems Thinking

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 69 Views 0 Comments Bob Williams, evaluation, public health, systems change, systems evaluation, systems thinking, tobacco control, toolkit

Systems thinking is essential for managing complexity – if done well. These guides for systems theory, practice, and evaluation can

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behaviour change social innovation

Social Innovation on Big Issues

December 6, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 252 Views 0 Comments behaviour change, design thinking, men, social change, social innovation, violence against women, women

Some problems have deep roots, seem intractable and resist change. Our first social innovation might be understanding that change is

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Amplification and Impact

December 5, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 192 Views 0 Comments 5G technology, AI, business, change, communication, complexity, data, design, developmental design, developmental evaluation, evaluation, feedback, innovation, learning, marketing, marketing complexity, mobile phones, Pareto distribution, Peloton, sensemaking, social media, technology, transformation

Transformations are easier to understand retrospectively, not in real time. New technologies are about to upend that, forever. It is

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Big Changes Through Small Actions

November 29, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 406 Views 0 Comments behaviour change, Black Friday, change, complexity, design, developmental design, developmental evaluation, evaluation, habit, marketing, retail, Seth Godin, systems change, systems thinking

Our consumption habits will kill our planet if we let it. Small actions, done often, can change our future course.

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Scaling Impact

November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 468 Views 0 Comments complex adaptive systems, complex innovation, complexity, Geoffrey West, IDRC, innovation, John Gargani, lean methodology, research, Santa Fe Institute, scaling, scaling impact, science, social innovation, systems thinking

‘Achieving scale’ might be the golden goose of social innovation. It’s a simple phrase, but its meaning and misunderstanding is

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innovation strategic foresight

What is Evaluation For?

November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 657 Views 1 Comment curiosity, design, design thinking, developmental evaluation, evaluation, foresight, health, innovation, program evaluation, social justice, visionary evaluation

Evaluation is the longest four-letter word in the English language. Kidding aside, what is evaluation? Why should we all care?

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The Lonely Innovator

November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 465 Views 0 Comments entrepreneurship, loneliness, Margaret Wheatley, mental health, Seth Godin, social movement, storytelling, Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement, The RSA

Pushing change is not for the faint of heart or head. Loneliness is one of side effects that innovators must

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The Empathy Gap

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 591 Views 0 Comments behavioural economics, design research, design thinking, empathy, Jon Kolko, marketing, neuroscience, perception, psychology, Remembrance Day, research, Rory Sutherland, service design

Empathy is considered to be at the bedrock of good design. But what if how we’re thinking about empathy is

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Alberta’s Innovation Advantage

November 8, 2019November 8, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 439 Views 0 Comments Alberta, Canada, design thinking, homelessness, innovation, oil, public policy, social policy, strategic foresight, systemic design, toolkit

The Canadian province of Alberta has a reputation for fostering innovation. From strategic foresight to systemic design this reputation is

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