Linearity and predictability

Introduction by Hannah

Problem: Managing and sustainning change in a complex and predicatable environment requires very different approaches and tools to those required to produce deliverables defined in advance.

- Understanding context
- Explicitly discussing assumptions
- Which planning tools and do we know which encourage us to recognise and expand the limits of our own knowledge?
- There should be a culture of humility based on contribution not attribution

- What sort of notion of development is based on not being able to learn

- Learning needs to be based on curiosity and bringing people and knowledges together to create new sort of knowledge

- Recognise the importance of values and principles. Why are we doing that? Also values are important for communication strategy and these things can also live on.

- Social change should be at the basis of all planning, rather than project itself, and these are built on values

- You need a theory of change which puts the assumptions on the table. Based on this, you can negotiate and learn

- Iterative, crtical, constant questionnaing is needed.

- Organisations may be frightened of putting their values on the table.

- Not an expertise and expert-based approach.

- To bring about change, you need to be tactical but stories of change might be convincing (eg Nokia)

- There needs to be a link to the 'value for money'  but this can mean there is a re-interpretation (multiple inputs, multiple outputs)

- Negotitation of value for money: a sort of assessment of efficiency (experience of Oxfam)

- Collecting 'evidence' and defining what that evidence is.

- One defintion of complexity is that

- aspirations and intentions are important

- how you manage relationship with dnors: internal advocacy, negotiation, integrity, trust,

- Notion of professionalism, not working as a super-bureaucrat but as flexible

- IKM as a research programme is saying things should be done differently, as an individually we can manouvre and negotiate.

- Michael Quinn Paton's work on 'developmental evaluation'

- Continuous learning with others, things don't need to solid, debate ideas and exchange

- What sort of evidence will convince people of the value of IKM Emergent: decisions to do things differently, need to document things differently, we need to think about the way we've done things differently, what do other people think? Governance needs attention: accountancy controls, reflection

- Cynfin framework: quadrant, rahter than binary simple versus complex. Do things get more simple over time? Bringing up a child: you can do it once makes it easier to do it once.

- Enthusiasm for being confused: enfusiasm (Riff)

- Steal from the right: ratings agency (AAA ratings) doing something

- Realist evaluation: you can generlise more

- Different to predict: a very open ended process as the one described by Michael David

- Educate people about uncertainty and then they will be more comfortable with uncertainty which is positive.

- IKM2 idea: helping agencies to deal with uncertainty

- We need a way of articulating, mapping, evidencing the things that are not planned: Chambers' 15%.

- Process document is very important for understanding the process.

- A process ToC which will adapted along the way but it can get turned into a glorified framework.

- Waht stops things becoming reified tool, possible MSP.

- New managerialism, distance control mechanisms, in univerisities.

- Social processes can look very different but a log frame doesn't have to

- Oppressive practices: M&E, capability traps.

- We are dealing with paradoxes: we do need guiding vision but the key thing was ensuring the structures have meaning and purpose.

- Iterative process required.

- To what extent are our organisational structures meeting our needs? Cheating for now, giving the new meaning.

- We are part of the system: giving ourselves to the power to negotiate and create thier won process.

- Default funding is now projects but institutional funding is far more flexible.

- Relationships are really important if you get a system without the project, contractual basis.

- MSP needed for starting project: downward, upward, side-wards.

- Values related to paprtner: spotting opportunities for expressing some of nthese values.

- Development is about values

- How to recruit. Potential of HR.


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