Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Value of Communities of Practice

After I returned from the American Evaluation Association conference in Minneapolis in November of 2019, I was so energized because it was an excellent way to experience the “fresh edge” of the evaluation field. Alongside more established and traditional workshops (e.g. quantitative methodologies), there were workshops and presentations about new ideas and ways of working: […]
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The Difference Between Technical and Adaptive Change

Last week I was in Minneapolis for the American Evaluation Association conference, and amongst the many excellent presentations was a plenary discussion about the difference between technical and adaptive change. It was called “Leadership for Evaluators: Engaging Clients in Adaptive Work” and was presented by Harvard lecturer Ron Heifetz. The core of his message was […]
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Kinds of Impact

There’s a lot of discussion about impact these days, and it’s pretty clear that the word is being used in slightly different ways. In some cases, it’s just being used as a word that means “consequences” or “effect” as a generic way of talking about something that’s happened as a result of something else. “That’s […]
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What Money Can’t Buy

A while ago, I read Michael Sandel’s “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets”, and I think it provides good food for thought for those of us in program planning and evaluation. A great deal of effort goes into developing programs that serve a variety of social, educational, cultural, and economic purposes, but […]
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Theory of Change

There are two related models that are often cited in program planning and program evaluation: Logic Model and Theory of Change. Both have their benefits, but I will argue here that Theory of Change is more powerful and appropriate for thinking through the ways that programs and services can lead to social change. Once you’ve […]
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De-Mystifying Evaluation

In my work with social purpose organizations, I’ve seen that evaluation is often seen as something slightly overwhelming and removed from day-to-day activities. It’s usually that thing that’s done at the end of a program cycle to report something to an external stakeholder, and   it’s usually associated with some stress over funding or fear […]
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