We need Mission Thinking, Moonshot Thinking, and Mission-Oriented Evaluation if we are to ensure evaluation is fit for purpose for this era. The thought occurred to me as I was reading the latest book by visionary and outspoken UK economist Mariana Mazzucato, who is on a mission to establish
My life is a tapestry of memories. Woven together to make up the fabric of my life. Like African fabrics, my memories come in a riot of colours - never boring, always calling. Many threads are soft and perfect. Like the finest Japanese kimono silk. Others rougher, challenging the senses, like
A dispassionate observer of Planet Earth from far away could well be pleased with this global crisis faced by all of humanity. The suffering of those hardest hit, in particular those individuals and societies already vulnerable or fragile, makes it hard for us who are part of it to think
We are at a transformative moment in the history of humankind and of our planet. During this extraordinary time and beyond, the global evaluation community will have to hone and reposition evaluation, in close alignment with research, as a GPS that can help humanity navigate the complex, uncharted terrain that
Democracy, human rights, Africa engagement, the Belt and Road ‘debt trap’ – four dominant narratives about China examined alongside alternative perspectives. Why we must demonstrate nuance and pluralism.
Our assumptions about China are shaped by narratives we rarely question. This post challenges us to see through others’ eyes – understanding how worldviews, cultural patterning and historical memory shape radically different perspectives on the same reality.
China’s ambitious vision for an ‘ecological civilisation’ offers a striking counterpoint to Western development models. This post examines how Confucian philosophy, environmental policy and systems thinking converge in China’s approach to sustainable development.
We can learn from one of the greatest transformative development success stories of all time. For the first time in history a country has lifted 850 million people out of poverty at a pace never seen before. Why evaluators have an imperative to learn from this achievement.
What dominates the world we live in today is the highly unsustainable fossil fuels addiction that is inducing upon us natural catastrophes that are abnormally speeding up migration crises, food and water shortages, wildfires, military conflicts and more. Indeed, infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet. The natural and
What is the responsibility of evaluators in the era in which we live today? This is one of the issues I raised in my keynote presentation at the UK Evaluation Society earlier this year, and which I want to address here. This question has been with me for a long
