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Since it was conceptualized in the late 1980s as a research methodology and change paradigm, the technique of ‘appreciative inquiry’ (AI) has proved to be highly effective for capturing the positive features of an organization or social system and energizing the members to strive for higher levels of performance. This Brief outlines the basic principles and methods of AI, describes various domains in which it has been undertaken and provides a recent example of its use in a centre affiliated...
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The logical framework approach (LFA) has come to play a central role in the planning and management of development interventions over the last twenty years. Although the logical framework has become universally known, it is far from universally liked. It has been the subject of much criticism over the years, concerning both the theoretical basis of the approach, and the way it is applied in practice. In this review, we have attempted to take stock of the current views of international...
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Identification and reporting of critical success factors and program impact in an efficient, yet comprehensive manner is an inherent difficulty facing many evaluators of large-scale evaluations. This paper details how two evaluators encountered such problems in the initial review of a large-scale initiative and then successfully addressed these issues through the application of the Success Case Method in a subsequent evaluation of the same program. The Success Case Method is a down-to-earth...
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The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) has mandated the development of a network enabled capability (NEC) across all of defense, aimed at producing agile military and nonmilitary effects via a network of networks. This paper provides an overview of NEC, representing it as a complex human activity system of systems (SoS), analysis of which cannot rely on purely traditional reductionist engineering approaches, requiring instead a soft-systems engineering approach. A literature review is then...
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PRA (participatory rural appraisal) and the more inclusive PLA (participatory learning and action) are families of participatory methodologies which have evolved as behaviours and attitudes, methods, and practices of sharing. During the 1990s and 2000s PRA/PLA has spread and been applied in most countries in the world. Among the multifarious domains of application, some of the more common have been natural resource management and agriculture, programmes for equity, empowerment, rights and...
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Spherit is a whole view technology system that streamlines meaning making, solutioning, and action taking in business, healthcare, relationships, and life in general, by displaying complex situation-specific topics in context on a customizable conversation map. When the Spherit system is activated it generates and displays a snapshot of any complex situation in a way that makes it digestible, while engaging our intellect and our intuition in the reflecting and meaning-making process. It's...
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In the beginning, there were methods. For many of us in the circle of enthusiasts of participatory approaches in the early 1990s, maps and models, calendars and Venn diagrams, matrices and rankings and the interactions and insights they produced defined what we did and what we had in common. It was this, too, that made participatory rural appraisal (PRA) – and rapid rural appraisal (RRA) before it – something that was very different from anything we’d known before. PRA bridged barriers that...
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This guide, written by Pamela J. Cox, Dana Keener, Tifanee L. Woodard, & Abraham H. Wandersman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlines a seven step process for hiring an evaluator to implement an empowerment evaluation. The process begins with preparing for the hiring and concludes with an assessment of an evaluation to ensure its sustainability. Excerpt "...concerns and experiences with independent evaluation led to the development of participatory evaluation...
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After-action reviews identify past mistakes but rarely enhance future performance. Companies wanting to fully exploit this tool should look to its master: the U.S. Army’s standing enemy brigade, where soldiers learn and improve even in the midst of battle.
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This paper outlines the background and philosophy of Collaborative Outcomes Reporting (COR) and Performance Story Reporting (PSR), providing an overview of these emerging techniques and showing how they can be used as a framework for reporting on contribution to long-term outcomes (or targets) using mixed methods and participatory process. The report serves as an introduction to these approaches in evaluation and discusses their bias, limitations and where they might best be applied.
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This is a concise description of ‘Performance Story’ written by Jess Dart and John Mayne for the Sage ‘Encyclopaedia of Evaluation’.
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This publication is aimed at organisations, community groups, students and academics who wish to use MSC to help monitor and evaluate their social change programs and projects, or to learn more about how it can be used. The technique is applicable in many different sectors, including agriculture, education and health, and especially in development programs. It is also applicable to many different cultural contexts. MSC has been used in a wide variety of countries by a range of organisations....
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Preparing an ‘innovation history’ is a method for recording and reflecting on an innovation process. People who have been involved in the innovation jointly construct a detailed written account (sometimes referred to as a ‘learning history’) based on their recollections and on available documents. The process of preparing this history stimulates discussion, reflection and learning amongst stakeholders. Subsequent planning can build on the lessons learned, formulate a shared vision and act as...
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This paper is a practical guide (a toolkit) for researchers, students and practitioners wishing to introduce randomization as part of a research design in the field. It first covers the rationale for the use of randomization, as a solution to selection bias and a partial solution to publication biases. Second, it discusses various ways in which randomization can be practically introduced in a field settings. Third, it discusses designs issues such as sample size requirements, stratification,...
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These three videos from Sarah Earl provide an introduction to the concepts of Outcome Mapping
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"Outcome Mapping provides not only a guide to essential evaluation map-making, but also a guide to learning and increased effectiveness, and affirmation that being attentive along the journey is as important as, and critical to, arriving at a destination." - Michael Quinn PattonMore and more, development organizations are under pressure to demonstrate that their programs result in significant and lasting changes in the well-being of their intended beneficiaries. However, such "impacts" are...
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When the business landscape was simple, companies could afford to have complex strategies. But now that business is so complex, they need to simplify. Smart companies have done just that with a new approach: a few straightforward, hard-and-fast rules that define direction without confining it.
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