Putting Principles in Practice
A good principle can be a source of inspiration and guidance for action and accountability if we know how to develop it.
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complexity
Systems and Evaluative Thinking
Systems and evaluative thinking are at the core of Principles-Focused Evaluation, and using both can help us think and act better.
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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 how can PFE help us navigate both. Systems (thinking), complexity, and principles all go together. Principles-focused Evaluation (PFE) brings them together in meaningful ways, but to understand that, we first need to understand what we
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Principles-Focused Evaluation: A Series Introduction
What is a Principles-Focused Evaluation approach, and what does it offer those seeking to support change, adaptation, and innovation? This first in a series of posts will introduce you to an approach to strategic innovation and evaluation for complex situations. Principles-Focused Evaluation (PFE) is an approach to generating value in complex situations. It is an
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Development vs Growth
The climate crisis enveloping us right now is providing a teachable moment to explore the difference between development and growth. Understanding the distinctions between what it means to grow and what it takes to develop might be critical to the survival of our planet — or at least ourselves. It might also be a way
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Climate Design For A World on Fire: Part 1
This week, the world is noticing what happens when we ignore climate change. The alarms are (literally) ringing, and designers must answer the call. I am not arrogant enough to presume I know what to do to solve our issues of the day. But I know enough to suggest hundreds of things that can make
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Action Before Motivation
A myth of behaviour change is that we must be motivated before we act. Behavioural Activation shows us how doing can lead to new thinking and better change-making. Much of the literature on behaviour is predicated on the belief that we need to change our minds to change our behaviour. However, if you’re depressed, anxious,
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System and Network Design
Canada was recently taught a valuable lesson about networks and systems fundamentals when it lost nearly 1/3 of its telecom capacity in a single day. What this outage teaches us about networks and systems is worth paying attention to. What would happen if you couldn’t access your phone? What if you couldn’t withdraw money from
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Disruption and the Energy of Change
Energy — our ability to generate and convert inspiration and enthusiasm into action — is at the heart of designing for change. Just like Design itself, we need to design for it to make it happen. There’s a great analogy about juggling that suggests success is as much about how many balls you have in
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The Design of Well-Being in Practice
In this final series on designing for well-being, we look at the application of a design framework to achieving the core aspects of health and care for people. We’ve outlined the role of well-being in supporting a healthy organization and the core aspects of well-being itself in the workplace. Now, we turn to asking: what
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