If you’re stuck in the daily grind of human services delivery, leveraging evaluation data can help you see and chart your progress. Among the most difficult things healthcare and human services professionals deal with is progress. Whether you’re an ER nurse, a front-line social worker, or a palliative care doctor, seeing progress is something that […]
Monitoring as Motivator: Harnessing the Progress Principle Read More »
What happens when evidence is everywhere and available to everyone? If we all have the same guides to the same destinations, what does that mean for where we are going and is it where we want to go? In this latest article in my series looking at evidence in 2024, I look at what it
Evidence in 2024: The Creator’s Dilemma Read More »
Artificial intelligence’s widespread use and data generation pose challenges for evidence, as creators may not fully understand its processes. Trust issues arise due to AI’s opaque nature and embedded biases, impacting decision-making. The reliability, reproducibility, and validity of AI-generated evidence are compromised. To mitigate these issues, transparent, reliable, and valid AI models must be developed, but widespread adoption and verification remain uncertain.
Evidence in 2024: The Many Black Boxes of AI Read More »
Evidence is the way we tell truth from mere belief and, when used responsibly, can positively shape our world while limiting the harms we do through our actions. There has never been more data to inform our evidence generation work, yet this abundance has brought with it new challenges that we don’t have the means
Evidence in Context: The State of Things in 2024 Read More »
Impact is the ultimate outcome for any social change initiative yet it’s also the most elusive and poorly defined of our evaluation metrics in practice. How do we change this? In this first post in a series, I bring us into the world of understanding impact. Non-profits are in the business of making a positive
What Does Impact Look Like? Read More »
Welcome to the Censemaking Methods Series where today we look at how to apply principles to guiding evaluation and strategy. This builds on our previous lessons on Principles-Focused Evaluation and the building blocks that underpin the approach. What are principles and why do they matter? Principles are anchors between values and strategy that allow for decision-making
Using Principles To Frame Strategy and Evaluation Read More »
In this latest in the Censemaking Methods Series we look at the Prototype Death Rate, a metric for assessing innovation productivity. When an idea has matured enough in our design process, it’s time to create a prototype. This is a tangible or digital ‘mock-up’ of the concept that serves as its first real-world representation. Before
A Metric for Innovation Productivity: The Prototype Death Rate Read More »
In this latest in our Censemaking Methods Series we turn our focus toward applying design to generating impact through better events and gatherings. Crafting an unforgettable gathering is an alchemy of art and science. Through intentional design, we can learn from service design From board retreats, annual general meetings, to brainstorming sessions, a stellar event
Designing More Powerful Events For Greater Impact Read More »
Welcome to the Censemaking Methods Series dedicated to profiling tools, techniques, methods, and issues tied to strategic design for impact. Today we look at evaluative thinking, the bedrock of understanding our influence on the world. Evaluative thinking is a disciplined approach to reflective practice, inquiry, and creative design that forms the backbone for any initiative
Three Questions to Enhance Evaluative Thinking Read More »
Evaluation is a practice of applying a critical lens to what we’ve done and created and assessed what value it brings into the world. Its value can’t be overstated if we look and listen. Evaluation is not a concept that many people embrace with affection. Too often I see it used and discussed in a
Evaluation’s Great Value (Often Missed) Read More »
