TY - JOUR
T1 - Promoting evaluation capacity building in a complex adaptive system
AU - Lawrenz, Frances
AU - Kollmann, Elizabeth Kunz
AU - King, Jean A.
AU - Bequette, Marjorie
AU - Pattison, Scott
AU - Nelson, Amy Grack
AU - Cohn, Sarah
AU - Cardiel, Christopher L.B.
AU - Iacovelli, Stephanie
AU - Eliou, Gayra Ostgaard
AU - Goss, Juli
AU - Causey, Lauren
AU - Sinkey, Anne
AU - Beyer, Marta
AU - Francisco, Melanie
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [Grant Number 1228868 ]. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/8
Y1 - 2018/8
N2 - This study provides results from an NSF funded, four year, case study about evaluation capacity building in a complex adaptive system, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net). The results of the Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations (CASNET) project indicate that complex adaptive system concepts help to explain evaluation capacity building in a network. The NISE Network was found to be a complex learning system that was supportive of evaluation capacity building through feedback loops that provided for information sharing and interaction. Participants in the system had different levels of and sources of evaluation knowledge. To be successful at building capacity, the system needed to have a balance between both centralized and decentralized control, coherence, redundancy, and diversity. Embeddedness of individuals within the system also provided support and moved the capacity of the system forward. Finally, success depended on attention being paid to the control of resources. Implications of these findings are discussed.
AB - This study provides results from an NSF funded, four year, case study about evaluation capacity building in a complex adaptive system, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net). The results of the Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations (CASNET) project indicate that complex adaptive system concepts help to explain evaluation capacity building in a network. The NISE Network was found to be a complex learning system that was supportive of evaluation capacity building through feedback loops that provided for information sharing and interaction. Participants in the system had different levels of and sources of evaluation knowledge. To be successful at building capacity, the system needed to have a balance between both centralized and decentralized control, coherence, redundancy, and diversity. Embeddedness of individuals within the system also provided support and moved the capacity of the system forward. Finally, success depended on attention being paid to the control of resources. Implications of these findings are discussed.
KW - Case studies
KW - Complex adaptive systems
KW - Evaluation capacity building
KW - Networks
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U2 - 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.04.005
DO - 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.04.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 29704777
AN - SCOPUS:85046378446
SN - 0149-7189
VL - 69
SP - 53
EP - 60
JO - Evaluation and Program Planning
JF - Evaluation and Program Planning
ER -