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Transformation-Focused Evaluation

Transformation-Focused Evaluation

Where evaluation meets transformation amid the increasing uncertainty, complexity and turbulence that define the polycrisis era. Posts here explore transformation-focused evaluation (TFE) using the the Four Lenses framework – evaluation OF, FOR, AS and IN transformation; TFE Principles; the H2+ qualities that help us understand how to design, implement and evaluate for transformation; the Three Horizons approach; and other ways of making evaluation genuinely fit for transformative ambitions.
03
Sep
Competencies for post-normal evaluation, Part 1

Competencies for post-normal evaluation, Part 1

"Are modernity's blueprints for evaluation theory and practice exhausted?" Only now and again one finds provocative
6 min read
30
Apr
Learning from China’s Transformation, Part 6. Co-evolution - a ‘first principle’.

Learning from China’s Transformation, Part 6. Co-evolution - a ‘first principle’.

Co-evolution – the mutual shaping of institutions, markets, society and governance over time – emerges as a first principle in understanding China’s transformation. This concluding post draws together the series’ lessons for evaluation and development practice
5 min read
26
Apr
Learning from China's Transformation, Part 5. Directed improvisation

Learning from China's Transformation, Part 5. Directed improvisation

China’s development story is an extraordinary example of complex adaptive systems thinking applied to political-economic transformation. ‘Directed improvisation’ – combining top-down strategic vision with bottom-up experimentation – holds vital lessons for us.
8 min read
22
Apr
Learning from China's Transformation, Part 4. Dominant narratives, alternative perspectives

Learning from China's Transformation, Part 4. Dominant narratives, alternative perspectives

Democracy, human rights, Africa engagement, the Belt and Road ‘debt trap’ – four dominant narratives about China examined alongside alternative perspectives. Why we must demonstrate nuance and pluralism.
6 min read
18
Apr
Learning from China's Transformation, Part 3. Seeing through others' eyes

Learning from China's Transformation, Part 3. Seeing through others' eyes

Our assumptions about China are shaped by narratives we rarely question. This post challenges us to see through others’ eyes – understanding how worldviews, cultural patterning and historical memory shape radically different perspectives on the same reality.
3 min read
16
Apr
Learning from China's Transformation, Part 2. Towards an ecological civilisation

Learning from China's Transformation, Part 2. Towards an ecological civilisation

China’s ambitious vision for an ‘ecological civilisation’ offers a striking counterpoint to Western development models. This post examines how Confucian philosophy, environmental policy and systems thinking converge in China’s approach to sustainable development.
7 min read
14
Apr
Learning from China's transformation, Part 1. Why learn from China?

Learning from China's transformation, Part 1. Why learn from China?

We can learn from one of the greatest transformative development success stories of all time. For the first time in history a country has lifted 850 million people out of poverty at a pace never seen before. Why evaluators have an imperative to learn from this achievement.
6 min read
25
Sep
Towards Transformation, 2. Interactions between the SDGs

Towards Transformation, 2. Interactions between the SDGs

If you read this year only one set of papers useful for SDG related evaluation, let it be this ISC/
9 min read
21
Sep
Guest Post: The resilience of evaluation in turbulent times

Guest Post: The resilience of evaluation in turbulent times

What dominates the world we live in today is the highly unsustainable fossil fuels addiction that is inducing upon us
4 min read
10
Jul
Towards Transformation, 1. The buzzword

Towards Transformation, 1. The buzzword

Can evaluation help enable and support transformative development? We know we need the latter. Yet like sustainability, transformation (or transformative
5 min read