Doing Evaluation by Combining Traditional Knowledge with Complex Understanding of
Channel: The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University
Date: 2014-11-03

Dr. Jonathan (Jonny) A. Morell—Director of Evaluation for the Fulcrum
Corporation and Editor for Evaluation and Program Planning

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Research on “complexity” reveals many notions of how the world works that are at odds with “traditional” social science knowledge and evaluation program theories. “Strange
attractor” is a particularly attention grabbing example, but many other examples are out there. It is easy to abandon “traditional” theories and just explain programs in terms of
complexity. It’s also easy to ignore complex behavior. Neither approach makes sense. When we design evaluations we need to pay a􀆩en􀆟on to “complex”, and “traditional” knowledge,
and draw from each as wisdom and expertise dictate. This presentation will provide examples of what such combinations would look like.

To view the slides: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Morell_evaluation_cafe_10_21_2014.pdf

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the individual presenters and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Evaluation Center or Western Michigan University.

Link to view other Evaluation Cafés or to learn about upcoming Cafés: wmich.edu/evalctr/evaluation-cafe/