By Robert Picciotto, University of Auckland, New Zealand American Journal of Evaluation, 2020 Summary: Michael Quinn Patton’s Blue Marble Evaluation is a forward-looking, path-breaking, and timely contribution to evaluation theory and practice. The title of the book evokes the Blue Marble shot—a photograph of the whole earth taken by the Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972. The preface of […]
Book Review: Blue Marble Premises and Principles Read More »
With lockdowns and stay home orders spanning the globe to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, we’ve all been spending an awful lot of time on Zoom these days. I know I have. Even my 2 and 6 year olds have. And now the language of “zoomed out” has become commonplace. I think we are all feeling
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day by Zooming Out and Zooming In Read More »
On April 21, 2020, the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association hosted a webinar where they asked Michael Quinn Patton to explore the implications of the novel coronavirus for evaluation. The recording of the webinar can be found here. The webinar generated lively discussion among participants. Below are some of the questions and comments shared in the chat during the
Summary: To quote a researcher from a recent study of institutions in Africa, “How is Africa ever going to develop if it doesn’t have its own set of very strong institutions?” If we are going to collectively address global challenges, strong national partners are essential. A continuing failure to address this gap in many parts of the world will
The role of institutions for transformation in the global South Read More »
One of the best methods for understanding transformations systems is the process of mapping them. There are a wide range of methods but there have been few attempts to document all current mapping methods and to understand when to use one type of mapping methods vs. another and more importantly to determine how to integrate
Transformation Systems Mapping & Analysis Group Read More »
