Presenters: Ralph Renger, PhD, MEP and Jessica Renger, MA
Description:
In recent years there has been increased attention given to the necessity
of integrating systems thinking into evaluation practice. Patton argues that developing system thinking
skills is a top 2 priority area for evaluators to meet emerging client
expectations. Since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for evaluators who understand systems thinking
principles and who can respond to the complex and dynamic environment in which
many programs are situated has been made more salient. However, the number of
evaluators who can translate systems thinking principles into real world
practice is in short supply. One reason for this is that much of the system
thinking research and theory is abstract, presenting a barrier to those wishing
to apply systems thinking principles. This workshop will simplify systems
thinking principles for participants by drawing on a series of published work
surrounding Systems Evaluation Theory culminating in the most recent
publication recognized for the best practice article in 2020 by the Canadian
Journal of Program Evaluation (Renger, 2015; Renger, 2016; Renger et al., 2017;
Renger et al., 2019; Renger et al., in press; Renger et al., 2020) and through
the provision of concrete case exemplars. After the workshop, participants will
be able to recognize and respond to systems issues in evaluation practice and
have access to a practical systems thinking toolkit they can draw upon to feel
more confident and capable in their future evaluation endeavors.
This workshop is aligned to AEA’s Competencies and Guiding Principals as follows:
Through the
discussion of systems thinking and the provision of SET as a practical
methodological toolkit to evaluate systems, this workshop is in alignment with
the systematic inquiry and competency guiding principles, as well as the
methodology competency domain. Additionally, since systems thinking and SET is
designed to address issues of complexity and context, the workshop is also intended
to build and advance evaluators abilities in the context competency domain.
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is geared towards evaluators looking to
build their system thinking skills and learn how to apply key systems thinking
principles to evaluate systems. Due to the practical nature of this workshop, evaluation practitioners would benefit the most from participation.
Facilitation Experience:
The lead facilitator has extensive expertise presenting systems thinking
workshops for a number of state agencies, health care organizations as well as
professional evaluation societies. The lead facilitator conducted a Systems
Evaluation Theory workshop for the 2020 Australian Evaluation Society
Conference, and both facilitators co-led a System thinking workshop for the
2019 American Evaluation Association Conference. During the 2019 American
Evaluation conference workshop, participant feedback was overwhelmingly
positive regarding the usefulness and practicality of the Systems Evaluation
approach.
Dates:
April 6th, 2022 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
April 13th, 2022 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
April 20th, 2022 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
April 27th, 2022 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
Note:
Once you purchase the eStudy you must register for each session. Recordings will be made available to registrants unable to attend sessions live. Recordings will be made available to all registrants for 90 days.