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Futures

Evaluation looks forward, not only back. Posts here explore foresight, futures thinking, the Three Horizons framework, and what it means for intervention design, implementation and evaluation to engage seriously with emergence, uncertainty and transformation.
08
Jun
Evaluation’s Journey towards the Future, Part 7. A Collective Navigation System for this time of Polycrisis

Evaluation’s Journey towards the Future, Part 7. A Collective Navigation System for this time of Polycrisis

Evaluation must become more than a technical practice – it can serve as a collective navigation system for this exceptional time in humanity’s history. Drawing on wayfinding, Indigenous wisdom and complexity thinking, this post reimagines evaluation’s purpose and potential.
8 min read
29
May
Evaluation’s Journey towards the Future, Part 6. Evaluating yesterday's world for tomorrow’s challenges?

Evaluation’s Journey towards the Future, Part 6. Evaluating yesterday's world for tomorrow’s challenges?

Why are we still evaluating yesterday’s world to plan for tomorrow’s challenges? Evaluation after evaluation describes what happened in the past without grappling with what is emerging. This post argues for a fundamental reorientation of evaluation practice.
15 min read
27
May
The Zoo of Future Risks

The Zoo of Future Risks

Part of a series of thought morsels. This one is fun but also sobering – a look at the colourful menagerie of animal metaphors we use for the risks shaping our future, from black swans to grey rhinos to dragon kings.
2 min read
25
May
Evaluation's Journey towards the Future, Part 5. The Liminal space of Not-Yet Futures

Evaluation's Journey towards the Future, Part 5. The Liminal space of Not-Yet Futures

We live in a liminal space, suspended between what was and what is becoming. Like a cocoon where the old dissolves before the new takes shape, this in-between space is where the transformations we need become possible. What does this mean for evaluation?
3 min read
15
May
Evaluation's Journey towards the Future, Part 4. It has always been political

Evaluation's Journey towards the Future, Part 4. It has always been political

Evaluation has never been neutral. Throughout history, the act of assessing has served as both instrument of control and catalyst for justice. This post examines how power, politics and ideology have always shaped what gets evaluated, by whom, and for what purpose.
4 min read
11
Apr
Mission-oriented Evaluation

Mission-oriented Evaluation

We need Mission Thinking, Moonshot Thinking, and Mission-Oriented Evaluation if we are to ensure evaluation is fit for purpose for
6 min read
03
Jan
Towards Transformation, 3. A grand narrative for evaluation in this era

Towards Transformation, 3. A grand narrative for evaluation in this era

In its very essence, the concept of evaluation is beautiful, I argued long ago in one of my first blog
5 min read
23
Jan
Global risks

Global risks

As the powerful gather in Davos this week, it is a good time to reflect on the WEF's
2 min read
09
Sep
Grand Challenges, Part 2

Grand Challenges, Part 2

In my previous post I highlighted the notion of Grand Challenges and where they have been developed. In this post
5 min read
06
Sep
Grand Challenges, Part 1

Grand Challenges, Part 1

In July 2014 I wrote a short paper for EES Connections in which I asked whether the time was right
4 min read