January, 2020 - Blue Marble Evaluation

The Global Alliance for the Future of Food Makes History with Formal Adoption of a Theory of Transformation

Leave a Comment / Blog Posts / By Michael_Patton / January 30, 2020 / Agriculture, MQP Musings, Principle 13: Theory of Transformation, Principle 3: Transformational Engagement

The third overarching Blue Marble Evaluation principles concerns transformational engagement: Engage and evaluate consistent with the magnitude, direction, and speed of transformations needed and envisioned. That leads to the Blue Marble Theory of Transformation operating principle: Design and evaluate transformation based on an evidence-supported theory of transformation. For the last 25 years, design, planning and evaluation have … Read more

Braiding Sweetgrass

Leave a Comment / Books / By admin / January 25, 2020 / Biodiversity, Decolonization & Indigenous Sovereignty, Love, Principle 12: Skin-in-the-game, Principle 6: GLOCAL, Sustainability

By Robin Wall Kimmerer Milkweed Publications (2015) Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range … Read more

Rethinking systems thinking: from a perspective of Chinese philosophy and sustainable development

Leave a Comment / Articles / By admin / January 25, 2020 / Chinese Philosophy, Systems Thinking

By Xu guangqing (2005) Abstract: As we know, the approach of systems thinking is fundamentally different from that of traditional forms of analysis. Traditional analysis focuses on the separating the individual pieces of what is being studied. Systems thinking, contrast, focuses on how the thing being studied interacts with other constituents of the system. Chinese … Read more

Blue Marble Evaluation: Thinking in Transformational Ways at a Time When We Urgently Need To

Leave a Comment / Blog Posts / By Michael_Patton / January 17, 2020 / Agriculture, Collaborative Crop Research Programme, International Development, Principle 2: Anthropocene as Context, Principle 3: Transformative Engagement, Principle 6: GLOCAL, Sustainability

This article by McKnight Foundation International program director Jane Maland Cady was originally published by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and adapted here with permission. Summary: The McKnight Foundation has supported the first of the Blue Marble Evaluation innovators — from Michael Quinn Patton and the World Savvy team, to the evaluators embedded in the Global … Read more

Moving at the Speed of Trust: The Role of Blue Marble Evaluation

Leave a Comment / Blog Posts / By Michael_Patton / January 6, 2020 / evaluation science, mqpmusings, polycentric governance, Principle 13: Theory of Transformation

Trust matters for transformation. The Blue Marble theory of transformation hypothesizes that transformation requires multiple actors, networks, organizations, movements, and individuals actively finding common ground thereby magnifying their separate efforts collectively to create critical mass and tipping points. A theory of transformation integrates and aligns multiple theories of change. One important constituent theory of change in support … Read more

Sustainable Development Goals

Leave a Comment / Websites / By admin / January 1, 2020 / Sustainability

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed … Read more

World Savvy Global Competence Matrix

Leave a Comment / Websites / By admin / January 1, 2020 / Global Competence, Principle 11: World Savvy, Principle1: Global Thinking

World Savvy is a 501c3 organization based in the United States that works to build global competence in middle and high school students and educators. World Savvy’s approach was an early inspiration for Blue Marble Evaluation. Their Global Competence Matrix offers insight into what core concepts, values, skills and dispositions might be relevant for Blue Marble Evaluators.

January 2020