Chris Argyris and Don Schön distinguished between ‘espoused values’ and ‘values in use’. Traditionally evaluations are based on, often pre-determined, ‘espoused values’. However, recent influential innovations in systems evaluations such as Developmental Evaluation, Blue Marble Evaluation, Footprint Evaluation and Culturally Responsive Evaluation have started to focus more on revealing and exploring the values that underpin interventions and what that means for the evaluation criteria. Critical Systems Heuristics provide a methodology to explore both kinds of values and the criteria they underpin. It also helps evaluators deliberate on the important boundaries decisions that are made within interventions, as well as the boundaries (e.g. criteria, purpose, focus and framing) chosen by evaluators when evaluating those interventions.
Speakers:
Bob Williams, Systems Thinking Evaluator and Consultant
Sharon Goldfeld, Director of the Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital
Organizer
