Three very interesting resources on a new form of evaluation to me, developmental evaluation, created by Michael Quinn Patton: A Developmental Evaluation Primer Patton’s own slides on developmental evaluation A practitioner’s guide to developmental evaluation This is the first thing I have seen on evaluation that has got me excited about the connection between complexity, systems thinking and change.
Stunning clear day at Harrison Lake and tens of thousands of spawning sockeye and chum at Chehalis. # 150 people arriving here at Harrison Lake Resort for a groundbreaking gathering on Indigenous Child and Family Services. # Dawn never struggles but sometimes the light is slow to come to deep valleys. # Witnessing history today for First Nations child and family services in BC: http://bit.ly/dl72jt # Heavy pulp mill smog in Prince George this morning. Stinky town, deserted centre. Hard times. Storm rolling in across NW BC this am. #
Flipcharts. Let me count the ways that we are tyrannized by them: 1. Power accretes around a flipchart. The next time you are in a meeting, see if you can tell where the front of the room is. It’s likely that, even if you are in a circle, the “front” will be where the flipchart is. As I wrote this I am in an Open Space meeting where people are gathered around flipcharts, and rather than organize in tight circles, several groups are arranged in semi circles facing one person holding a marker and writing on the flipchart. This defeats …
From my recent work in the labour movement, a quote to inspire you in your work for social change: Howard Zinn: ”Ž”To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we… see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places–and there are so many–where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the …
In the middle of a four day gathering of indigenous child and family services organizations here in British Columbia. I’m back in my room even though it’s after lunch and our meeting was supposed to have restarted because history just got made. To understand what this means, you have to have an appreciation of how the state has related to indigenous communities in this country since colonization began. The essence is that tools of law and legislation have been used repeatedly to deny the jurisdiction, rights and responsibilities of First Nations from nearly the moment European governments set eyes on …