What We're Reading part two: Systems Practice
David Jacobstein
Hi all,
The second collection I have this quarter is around systems practice - ideas to help take the truth of how complex systems exist and anchor it in approaches to change.
First is a piece on civil society as originally envisioned and how the current crisis is forcing people to go back to what it was; it specifically highlights the role of philanthropy in contributing to repairing social fabrics. I love the line that the “foundation of this new order [of professional NGOs] was more capital, less community.” It is a bit ironic that the inspiration was a conference to help capital make better investments in community-based efforts; it seems remarkably hard for those with capital not to be the ones convening the conversations.
Second, I loved this recording and discussion on portfolio evaluation and how to think about a portfolio and learning across it, as well as this wonderful article on indicators of systems change as a key topic within portfolio evaluation. In particular, I’ve seen a lot of efforts to learn how an effort is doing from a basket of indicators, but I’ve never seen as clear a description of how we can move beyond a basket of indicators to looking at them as nested or tonally-related nested indicators, with a focus on the relationship between them. This is clear and compelling, and offers a great way to use indicators to surface and sense-make an understanding of how a system is changing as it is connected to specific efforts - one of the most challenging and longstanding issues in adopting a systems lens as a social changemaker.
Third, I adored this piece on time (with a playlist)! It covers brilliantly not only how we examine time from our perspectives and build it into knowledge/evaluation. What’s more, it does this with reference to music as praxis for opening ideas to different ways of knowing. The music is incredible and I find the analogy really helps me grasp the deeper ways that interrelationships forge specific junctures and moments, and imagine attuning to listen for them as the deeper ways the system changes. Just a delightful communication of ideas!
Quick Hits
After years watching with frustration as so many people misconstrued what RCTs are and are not, and how they fit into a broader idea of figuring out the right things to do to accomplish large-scale change, I was pleased to see this SSIR article on problems with RCTs
Tom Aston wrote a good review of evidence around what works to change policy (though I would further comment that starting from “what policy should be” is itself a trap, since the value add of engaging in the debate over policy isn’t to signpost correct answers but to elevate the right voices and increase pressure for them to be heard)
I really appreciated this thoughtful Dazzo evaluation article, and particularly would flag the referenced graphic of three circles (orientations toward justice, liberation, and relationships; sounds like many of us in development could adopt one or more as our tribal affiliation). The key language that spoke to me was around ensuring evaluation is contributing to both evaluator and evaluated, fostering renewal and restoration.
An article primarily on movement building that posits circulation as the focus of movement building. His 3 takeaways help apply the idea of travel, attending, returning, and iterating as aspects of being in communication with one another and I very much love the idea that the health of a movement isn’t its breadth so much as the quality of its circulation.
An article on learning and fragility, with a focus on how limited efforts to learn are when they cannot envision broader shifts in environment
A great story of a broad measurement approach that gives a granular elucidation of how measurement is transformed when we see learning in the journey as the focus
I always enjoy learning from Alan Hudson’s online gardening and this is a well-signposted grouping of 6 different articles connecting systems thinking and reflective relational practice with various other streams of work - the comments offer a great discourse and rich array of further reading. I especially like his summation in the 6th linked piece that the value of these explorations has been “using that understanding to inform policies to amplify, encourage and extend positive deviance.”
This review of how civic actors are responding in a moment of crisis provides a lot of data to illustrate shifts and informs it with careful consideration around whether and how these can be part of an adoption of a more systemic approach by actors across civil society globally.
The most practical and exciting piece this quarter, an insightful note from Sarah Ellison on using everyone’s favorite facilitation tools, liberating structures, online. I have already made excellent use of it and you will want to bookmark it!
I hope these are thought-provoking; more to follow tomorrow.
Best,