Systems Expert
Jonathan Morell, Owner, 4.669… Evaluation and Planning
ECD Expert
Aisha Yousafzai, Professor of Child Development and Health, Harvard University
Moderator
Shekufeh Zonji, Global Technical Lead, ECDAN
Complexity has consequences for how we reason about prediction, explanation, and causality. With a complexity lens, we gain knowledge about program activity and outcome that we could not otherwise obtain. Such knowledge is important because the programs we evaluate, and the outcomes they produce, comprise complex systems that exhibit complex behaviors. Evaluation must recognize these realities. To convey these concepts the workshop will begin with an overview of elements in Complexity Science that are particularly appropriate for evaluation, and for the evaluation of transformation in particular. We will then move to tools to define appropriate context-specific definitions of transformation, and models for depicting transformation. Embedded in tool use will be knowledge of behaviors of complex systems, decisions about when and when not to invoke complexity, choosing appropriate methods for evaluating transformation, and appreciation of what we can and cannot know about change in the complex system that constitutes transformation.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will develop a better understanding of the following:
Session Homework:
Please review the following resources before the session:
Session Resources:
Additional Resources:
Jonathan Morell, Owner, 4.669… Evaluation and Planning
Jonathan A. Morell (Jonny) is an organizational psychologist with extensive experience in the theory and practice of program evaluation. His current research and evaluation focus is on how knowledge from Complexity Science can be applied to models, methods, and metrics, as those constructs are used in the field of evaluation. Jonny has been recognized by the American Evaluation Association, who awarded him their Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award. He is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of the journal Evaluation and Program Planning, and owner of 4.669… Evaluation and Planning. Jonny holds a PhD in Social Psychology from Northwestern University.
Aisha Yousafzai, Professor of Child Development and Health, Harvard University
Aisha Yousafzai is a specialist in child development health. Her research focuses on developing new interventions and approaches to promote early child development, focusing on how to strengthen child and caregiving related outcomes through existing health, nutrition, and education systems. Her research also seeks to understand the implementation structures and processes for early childhood interventions for sustainable impact at scale. In addition, her research seeks to promote capacity development in local communities, services, and systems for delivery of interventions to promote effective and high-quality early childhood development
Have any questions or ideas for the series, contact [email protected].
For more resources on systems thinking, please visit the Systems Thinking for ECD webpage.