Sensemaking is a social process that helps us make sense of data, information, and knowledge in a time of complexity. It’s used often in innovation contexts when we are fitting data to a unique situation. The RSA (the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) a UK-based charity and think-tank has recently …
Pilots have a pre-flight check before they fly a plane. A developmental evaluation journey requires the same kind of preparedness. Developmental Evaluation (DE) is an approach to strategic learning designed for understanding and supporting innovation. This approach to data-driven learning requires a specific set-up to do well. While we need a mindset, skillset, and toolset …
Capturing learning requires a focus on the journey, not end. Thinking like a designer can shape what we learn and how. Learning is both a journey and a destination and it’s through recognizing this that we can better facilitate intentional, deliberative learning to support innovation and development. By approaching this journey through the lens of …
Developmental Evaluation (DE) was first proposed by Michael Quinn Patton with the support of colleagues who have wrestled with the problem of dealing with complexity in human systems and the need to provide structured, useful, actionable information to make decisions to support innovation. DE has been described as being akin to taking a classic ‘road …
This article draws on a piece originally shared as an invited post on the American Evaluation Association’s AEA365 blog. AEA365 is a daily blog that shares tips, tricks and resources for professional evaluators worldwide and is focused on complexity science for evaluators. Our work at Cense brings together complexity science and design together with developmental …
