1014 - Systemic Design Thinking for Evaluation of Social Innovations

In truth, there is no non-systems world. More and more, the distinction between simple, complicated, and complex has proven to not be all that useful. In the real world, programs and evaluators work within complex situations. Always. Add to that the rapidly accelerating pace of change and we have programs seeking to address problems that are massively interconnected and under increasing onslaught from human, political, economic, and environmental stressors. Standing in the present, looking toward a future where change seems so extreme and so rapid, it can feel as if the ground is eroding below us. Even for programs – by the time they have implemented their work and obtained evaluation findings, conditions may have already shifted. They are building the bicycle while already riding it. Yet, funding streams, programs, and evaluation keep adhering to processes, designs, and timelines that, too often, are intended for circumstances and a time that no longer exist. 

Historically, social innovation has based its design foundations in notions of predictability, control, and linearity. Evaluation followed with designs and methodologies grounded in linear assumptions. Over time, notions of problems as simple, complicated, or complex began to influence the design of programs and the evaluations that assessed them, but programs and evaluation continued to pretend that the world was linear. Social innovation finds itself at a juncture that has us questioning evaluation of social change as well as how to design evaluations to respond to change. Numerous programs are implemented each year, yet conditions keep worsening. It’s like using a pebble to plug a breach in a dam. Not only must programs meet the challenge of rapidly escalating and intertwined changes, they must attend to the critical importance of fostering an environment that values the contributions of all voices, promotes equity, and engages new and emerging perspectives. Evaluators must also embrace that goal and shift focus to seek out the diverse voices and perspectives present in programs and determine the degree to which our practice meets the challenges of promoting equity, sustainability, and evolution. 

We live in a time of rapid change and great complexity. Social innovators and program designers are recognizing that conventional thinking for program design cannot properly address issues of complexity, social justice, inclusion, and oppression. Increasingly, programs seek to address societal problems emerging from multiple root causes involving interconnected relationships and stakeholders. It is becoming critical that programs learn to embrace thinking about program design in a way that integrates systems principles with systemic design thinking. It requires an approach to problem solving that embraces ambiguity, emergence, and uncertainty. 

If program design shifts to embrace complexity, interconnectedness, non-linearity, and the importance of context, then so must evaluation. Systems thinkers interrogate the system they are studying. They listen to what the system has to say using methods that look much like the ones we already use to evaluate programs. But the intent, timing, and “who” are different. Systemic design thinkers do the same to determine what is going on, what needs to be put into play to address problems, how it should look, and who it should serve. 

Systemic design thinking integrates principles of systems thinking with design to address multifaceted problems of increasing complexity. It combines creative and analytical approaches with multidisciplinary collaboration and empathy to match stakeholders’ needs with what is technically feasible and programmatically viable. It engages a continuously interpreted, negotiated perspective toward action and program outcomes that focuses on aligning organizational action with social goals to address complex problems. The ability to embrace complexity in human systems has become a critical factor influencing program success and a driving force in the growing use of systems thinking for programs and evaluation.

But, how does evaluation embrace this new design space? What can we learn from systemic design thinking joined with systems thinking that might inform approaches to evaluation design that better embrace complexity and emergence and reconsider and reimage a new future? What are the opportunities that have been missed when evaluating change efforts designed to meet complex social challenges? Evaluation must look beyond methods based on prediction, linearity, and control to ones that examine how social innovations, both as parts of a larger system and systems in their own right, develop as organic responses to pressing needs. Evaluation can serve social innovation by helping stakeholders understand what and why something is happening, identify where change opportunities exist, and learn how to make adaptive adjustments as the innovation evolves. We don’t need new tools; we need to use our existing tools in new ways.


This workshop will cover the basics of systemic design thinking with a specific focus on its use in evaluation. Group discussion and hands-on activities will focus on discovering the potential for synergy between design thinking and systems thinking with the intent of finding the “spark” or hybrid design space that can result from marrying these in evaluation practice. We will engage in integrating systemic design thinking, systems thinking, and evaluation in ways that empower us as evaluators to better attend to whole-systems ecologies and complexity in program design and outcomes.

Participants will engage with frameworks and tools to enhance their understanding of systemic design thinking and evaluation as an instrument for listening and discovery, interrogating programs from a context of reflective practice performed in service of design and systems thinking. The day will be structured to encourage ongoing reflection on what it also means to engage with the many diverse voices present in the system through the following questions:

• What ways do you need to prepare yourself to become an actor in the system? What role are you going to play?

• What voices do you engage and listen to? How?

• When do evaluators have a voice in program design? Can we help programs get to better outcomes if we work with them to engage in systems-oriented design thinking?

This full-day workshop is designed to preent a broad introduction to the fundamentals of engaging with systemic design thinking for program evaluation. Participants will have an opportunity to play with ideas using examples the presenters will provide. For those interested in more specific tools, the presenters will be offering a half-day workshop Wednesday morning that will focus more on a framework for evaluation and provide practice with 2-3 key tools that can be used in practice.