Innovation can involve small adjustments or great transformations. Social media provides a case study for understanding why ongoing monitoring and evaluation can tell many different stories about whether change is big or small, for good or for not — or something altogether different. Online social networks like Twitter and Facebook often notify their users of […]
Transformation and Innovation Read More »
Innovation is a misunderstood and often misrepresented concept that can provoke fear, indifference, resentment, confusion, or irrational exuberance. To understand the reasons why we can’t ignore innovation we need to look no further than the sage advice in The Leopard, a story of change. It’s been said that the only true constant is change. Funny
Innovation, Change and The Leopard Read More »
What distinguishes design-driven evaluation from other types of utilization-focused evaluation or innovation development is that it views the evaluative act as part of a service offering. It’s not a shift in method, but in mindset. Evaluation is the innovator’s secret advantage. Any sustained attempt to innovate is driven by good data and systems to make
The Mindset for Design-Driven Evaluation Read More »
Developmental evaluation is a powerful tool to support innovation, engaging communities, and foster deep learning. While it might be growing in popularity, increasingly in demand, and a key difference-maker for social and technological innovators it might also not be for you. Developmental evaluation (DE) is an approach to evaluation that is designed to support innovation
Developmental Evaluation is not for you Read More »
Every living thing has a journey that starts somewhere and ends eventually. Our ability to see this, understand it, and apply what we know about how humans grow and develop (as individuals and organizations) is what helps us determine how this journey unfolds and where it ends up. The psychology of individuals is a complicated
The Developmental Psychology of Organizations Read More »
Innovation involves bringing something new into the world and that often means a lot of uncertainty with respect to outcomes. Learning is the one outcome that any innovation initiative can promise if the right conditions are put into place. Innovation — the act of doing something new to produce value — in human systems is
Learning: The Innovators’ Guaranteed Outcome Read More »
Metrics are at the heart of evaluation of impact and value in products and services although they are rarely straightforward. What makes a good metric requires some thinking about what the meaning of a metric is, first. I recently read a story on what makes a good metric from Chris Moran, Editor of Strategic Projects at
Meaning and metrics for innovation Read More »
Organizational transformation efforts from culture change to developmental evaluation all depend on one ingredient that is rarely discussed: time. How do we sit with this and avoid the trap of aspiring for greatness while failing to give it the time necessary to make change a reality? Toolkits are a big hit with those looking to create
How do we sit with time? Read More »
Developmental evaluation holds promise for product and service designers looking to understand the process, outcomes, and strategies of innovation and link them to effects. It’s the great promise of DE that is also the reason to be most wary of it and beware the traps that are set for those unaware.  Developmental evaluation (DE), when
Developmental Evaluation’s Traps Read More »
Developmental evaluation requires different ways of thinking about programs, people, contexts and the data that comes from all three. Without a change in how we think about these things, no method, tool, or approach will make an evaluation developmental or its results helpful to organizations seeking to innovate, adapt, grow, and sustain themselves. There is
A mindset for developmental evaluation Read More »
