Systems and Complexity: Implications for Evaluation
This second in a series on Principles-Focused Evaluation (PFE) draws our attention to the concepts of systems and complexity and
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complexity theory
Using The Concept of Attractors To Facilitate Change
Attractors might be the most useful concept within complexity science for understanding practical change-making. By looking at how an attractor
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Lessons Taught, Learned, Forgotten, and Ignored
It’s easy to say a lesson was learned and far more difficult to show it to be true. What can
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Entangled Knots and Complexity
The idea of entanglements is central to understanding complexity in systems and the knots that they generate The idea of
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Unprecedented: Living Complexity
‘Unprecedented’ is a term that is changing how we understand complexity and foresight. One thing that often makes complex situations
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You Want It Darker?
It is poetic irony on many levels that weeks after Leonard Cohen releases his album about the threat of death
Read moreOf tails, dogs and the wagging of both
Evaluation is supposed to be driven by a program’s needs and activities, but that isn’t always the case. What happens
Read moreJaron Lanier and Dominant Design
Are we creating path dependencies with our creative technologies that actually limit creativity? Jaron Lanier thinks so and in this post I introduce the concept of dominant design and what it means in terms of technological and social innovation.
Read moreSocial (non) Sense-making
What is true in the world of social media and decision making is a matter of interpretation. However that interpretation, often off-loaded to others in crowdsourcing models, might not work well when strong ties are needed to foster quality decisions.
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The Fallacy of New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s resolutions don’t work and can sometimes make things worse. Maybe the problem is less about us and the entire thought process that informs why we plan change in such linear ways to begin with.
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