Context - systems thinking : All Articles

Evaluation for equitable development results

01 April 2012

This wide-ranging publication aims to contribute to the international debate on how to achieve equitable development results by conceptualizing, designing, implementing and using evaluations focused on human rights and equity. It does so by offering a number of strong contributions from 27 world-level experts and senior officers in institutions and governments dealing with development and evaluation. The authors also presented their contribution in a series of webinars that are available for download on the My M&E web portal. The book complements an earlier manual “ How to design and implement equity-focused evaluations,” published in 2011.

Dealing with complexity through Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation (Praxis Paper 26)

22 March 2012

Published by INTRAC in February 2012, this paper shares initial findings from an ongoing action research project, involving nine Dutch and one Belgian international development organisation, in collaboration with their Southern partners. The objective of the project is to explore if and how more ‘complexity oriented’ Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) approaches can help them to deal with diverse challenges that they encounter in their day-to-day practice.

Capacity, complexity and consulting: lessons from managing capacity development projects

20 March 2012

In recent years, the Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme of the UK-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has increasingly focused on managing large, multiyear processes, aimed at building the capacity of local institutions in developing countries to change the way they engage with policy. This paper draws  on the observations of RAPID staff involved in various projects as well as on primary documentation such as trip reports, after action reviews and project reports. It also includes a ‘ light-touch’ review of some of the grey and academic literature available on capacity development, complexity, managing social change and aid agency behaviour.

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: PRIA Global Partnership newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 4

14 March 2012

The October 2011 issue of PRIA's Global Partnership newsletter contains a selection of papers that were presented and discussed in the International Conference on Monitoring and Evaluation: New Developments and Challenges, jointly organized by INTRAC, PSO and PRIA held on 14-16 June 2011 in the Netherlands.
 

Changing minds: A guide to facilitated participatory planning

26 August 2011

This book draws on the work of thinkers and doers throughout the world who have grappled with the challenge of planning complex institutions, especially health systems and development projects. Their problem: Conventional planning methods often do not work. The solution: Involve all the key stakeholders in making the plan. The challenge: Devise a planning system that the principals and stakeholders can trust, and that is inclusive, balanced, and dynamic.

Creative capacity development

18 August 2011

The development community seems constantly and restlessly in search of a singular approach that will “ solve” poverty, unveiling new buzzwords every few years only to toss them aside. Reflecting on personal experience as Director of a Cambodian capacity-building NGO, VBNK,  Jenny Pearson argues that the fundamental flaw with prevailing development approaches is that they remain embedded in a technocratic and specialized paradigm that is ill-equipped to deal with the complexity of real-world development contexts.

Taking responsibility for complexity

21 June 2011

Implementers of development policies and programmes must deal with interdependent problems, navigating nonlinear and often unpredictable change processes, involving a diverse range of stakeholders. The point of departure of this ODI discussion paper published in June 2011 is that the main problem is not (necessarily) intractable problems, or poor application of the right tools, but rather use of the wrong tools for the job. Rather than specify what problems should be considered ‘complex’, the paper aims to give readers the tools to decide for themselves whether an issue faced is complex, and to provide guidance on what to do if it is.

Theories of change: A resource list

24 May 2011

Research to Action has developed a list of resources for researchers and organizations looking to develop a ‘theory of change’ for their work. The page is worth visiting for capacity development practitioners as many of the resources provide practical guidance on how to fit the different theoretical frameworks to a variety of practice contexts.

"Evaluation revisited" workshop report published

12 April 2011

This report published in March 2011 summarizes the outputs of the Conference ‘Evaluation Revisited: Improving the Quality of Evaluative Practice by Embracing Complexity’’, which took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in May 2010. It also adds additional insights and observations related to the themes of the conference that have emerged at follow-up events.

The benefit of hindsight: Lessons on improving development effectiveness

01 April 2011

Impact and Aid Effectiveness: Mapping the Issues and Their Consequences, is a free-to-download compilation of analytical work spanning three decades. One of the interesting insights that can be gained from such a historical perspective is a better understanding of how some ongoing preoccupations have been shaped by their proximity to other debates or policy concerns. 

How can donors best support the strengthening of domestic accountability in developing countries?

23 March 2011

Rather than encouraging the adoption of particular models of governance, donors should seek to nurture the environment of transparency and accountability out of which appropriate solutions to the challenges of development might emerge, led and owned by local stakeholders. This is one of the key messages from a panel discussion on domestic accountability during the European Development Days in Brussels, on 6th December 2010. It is also the focus of a new ECDPM discussion paper that explores how emerging capacity development perspectives can help foster democratic ownership.
 

First "State of the Humanitarian System" report published

20 January 2011

The aim of this report, commissioned under ALNAP’s Humanitarian Performance Project, was to provide a system-level mapping and assessment of international humanitarian assistance. The research team synthesized the findings of roughly 500 global survey responses, 100 recent evaluations, 89
interviews, staffing and budget information of over 200 aid organizations and a financial analysis of global humanitarian aid flows. The resulting report
represents a pilot effort to broadly assess the ‘state of the system’ with the intent, if it is found useful, to repeat the exercise once every two years.

In one of its key findings, the study depicts "a system steadily and incrementally improving its own internal mechanics and technical performance, while remaining deficient in some 'big picture' requirements for effectiveness".

About "Theory U": Resources from the Society of Organizational Learning

15 January 2011

In Theory U: Leading from the future as it emerges (SoL, 2007), C. Otto Scharmer expounds on the theoretical foundations of what he calls "the social technology of precensing". Presencing is a blend of the words "presence" and "sensing", and is defined as "the ability to sense and bring into the present one's highest future potential—as an individual and as a group".

Theory U is presented as a new territory of scientific research and personal leadership, one that is grounded in real life experience and shared practices. Otto Scharmer invites us to see the world in new ways by learning to become aware of our "blind spot", by sharing from his own personal and professional development. The final chapters lay out principles and practices that allow everyone to "participate fully in co-creating and bringing forth the desired future that is working to emerge through us".

Systems Concepts in Action: A Practitioner's Toolkit

12 January 2011

Systems Concepts in Action: A Practitioner's Toolkit (Stanford University Press, 2010) is a welcome addition for practitioners' understanding of how to work with complexity and systems-thinking concepts. 

Written by Bob Williams and Richard Hummelbrunner, the book explores the application of systems ideas to investigate, evaluate, and intervene in complex and messy situations. The text serves as a field guide, with each chapter representing a method for describing and analyzing; learning about; or changing and managing a challenge or set of problems.

IDS Bulletin 41.3 (April 2010) Reflecting collectively on capacities for change

18 December 2010

‘Capacity development’ implies a promise of growing self-reliance, national ownership and sustainability, yet practice seems consistently to fall short of this emancipatory promise. This publication argues for a reframing of capacity development for emancipatory social change.

Paradox or synergy?

13 December 2010

Multi-stakeholder partnerships as a donor strategy

The Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO) is a Dutch donor agency engaged in facilitating and funding multi-stakeholder partnerships. Its unique approach has been adopted by five other organisations in the ICCO Alliance.

The dynamics of change

10 December 2010

Dealing with power – the key to successful MSPs?

For over ten years, Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) has been offering capacity development programmes to support the practitioners of multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs). One of the most important functions of these programmes is to prepare facilitators to work with power and conflict in order to bring about successful outcomes.

Working with power and love

09 December 2010

Solving our toughest problems - uncoventionally

Conventional approaches to solving problems cannot deal effectively with increasingly complex social crises. Our efforts to address ‘tough’ issues in this way often cause us to become ever more confused, polarised and stuck.

Thinking strategically in the face of complexity

08 November 2010

What development interventions make sense when much is unpredictable and uncertain? What is possible when the biggest impacts come from the unforeseen or serendipitous events? Are there alternatives to linear ways of planning, strategizing and making policy?

Selected Readings - The Idea and Practice of Systems Thinking and Their Relevance for Capacity Development

08 November 2010

In this [draft] reflection paper, Peter Morgan explores the utility of systems thinking for improving our understanding of capacity development. The paper provides an overview of systems thinking and some key issues and concepts.

Context in capacity development

29 October 2010

In capacity development, it is good to be humble and recognise the contextual dynamics that are often more forceful and influential in the long term than support intervention itself. This issue of Capacity.org focuses on methods that can help to understand the societal context in which capacity development takes place. One of these methods is systems thinking, in which organisations, sectors and societies are seen as systems composed of elements that interact with each other.

Applying systems thinking to capacity development

29 October 2010

Systems thinking challenges many assumptions about the need for planning, objectives and control, and the ability of external agents to influence local change processes.

Beyond the dotted line

29 October 2010

Systems thinking is very common among European NGOs, but it often covers over the complexity of context, power relations and local knowledge. Chris Mowles gives an example of how taking a systems approach overlooked local initiatives, and thus made it difficult for local people to engage in genuine partnerships with European NGO staff.

"There is no such thing as a natural disaster”: crises, complexity and the role of theory

12 October 2010

This blog post by Ben Ramalingam (ALNAP) argues that with the devastating Haiti earthquake still fresh in our minds, this is the time to reflect on the underlying theories that shape the way “we think about disasters, how we understand the aftermath, and how we carry out international aid work.” 

Embracing complexity

03 June 2010

The Evaluation for Development conference held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 20-21 May 2010, focused on how 'embracing complexity' can help to improve the quality of evaluative practice. The conference explored concrete evaluation practices that reconcile an understanding of complex societal change processes with quality standards, including rigorous, ethical concerns, appropriateness and feasibility.