The Systems in Evaluation TIG (Session 1): Learning from our History

The Systems in Evaluation TIG (SETIG) officially came into being 20 years ago during Evaluation 2004 in Atlanta. As the Systems in Evaluation TIG has grown, its members often found themselves struggling with how to bring together two large fields of inquiry and practice – systems and evaluation. Over time, it also became clear that interest in understanding systems and in evaluating systems was growing and was not limited to TIG members.

In talking to evaluators about systems and systems thinking, SETIG leadership, past and present, has been struck by how many people find systems ideas disturbing, unsettling, and difficult to put into practice. Although a deeply practical field, systems thinking challenges our ideas about expertise, purpose, values, and certainty in ways that are often more emotional than logical. We have found evaluators struggling with integrating systems into their own thinking and practice, with learning how to describe systems, and with learning how to think systemically.

Thus, the early focus of the SETIG has been one of exploration, discussion, teaching, and learning. What were we as evaluators to do with our traditional theories, methodologies, and paradigms when faced with complex situations for which those methods were inadequate? How could evaluators learn how to transcend the paradigms of traditional evaluation to embrace and integrate a systems thinking perspective into evaluation practice? How do we use systems approaches to engage and empower diverse voices within the field of evaluation as well as within the people, places, and programs we evaluate?

The SETIG’s history has always emphasized engaging a diverse set of voices to inform the adoption of systems methods and perspectives for use in program evaluation. We continue this tradition by proposing two sessions intended to: (1) engage SETIG members and other evaluators in learning about and discussing the issues and challenges faced by SETIG over its first 20 years; and (2) incorporate these lessons learned into a vision of possibilities for the future. The goal of these sessions is to facilitate discussion that incorporates what has been accomplished to this point and uses it as a means to inform future directions for the SETIG.

The focus for this first roundtable session is a retrospective look at the work of the SETIG. Facilitated by a team of SETIG leaders from previous years, the emphasis will be on building a foundation of knowledge and awareness of the many ways the SETIG has sought to integrate systems thinking into evaluation practice and to prepare evaluators to become systems thinkers in their own right.