Changemakers may have an easier time getting on the same page about what they are trying to accomplish if they have some common language about the different degrees, orders, or levels of change they seek. For more on the series, see: https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/guides/the-transformation-frameworks-series#guides...
This paper explores a half-dozen archetypical portfolios change-makers might use to address complex challenges - and their unique purposes, theories of change, as well as management, communication and evaluation practices....
This first paper in the 'Transformation Series' prepared by Tamarack and Here to There Consulting offers one way (and there are many) to understand what so many people are hoping to achieve: transforming systems and societies for the better. ...
The are three significnat reasons to avoid community driven, local efforts to tackle stubborn societal issues. But the seven reasons to embrace the approach are far more powerful. This resource explains why....
In this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, Sylvia Cheuy, Liz Weaver and Mark Cabaj explore how the Tamarack Institute has played a role as 'field catalyst' to support, unite and accelerate local collective impact initiatives to promote living wages across the country. See: How Field Catalysts Accelerate Collective Impact ...
This paper developed for the Paul Ramsay Foundation in Australia explores how to understand and track their contributions of 'intermediary' organizations - such as field catalysts, capability specialists, field builders and backbone organizations - to system change initiatives and what that might mean for funders who support their work....
Performance and outcome metrics are a central element of most evaluations. However, they are often so mis-used that they provide misleading picture of what is really happening on the ground, which in turn can lead to terrible decisions. This engaging and easy to read book, Tyranny of Metrics, describes how...
It is notoriously difficult to track and assess initiatives to tackle complex issues that unfold over time, with diverse actors, and whose primary aim is to change systems. In his new book, Outcome Harvesting, Ricardo Wilson-Grau provides an exciting and practical path forward....
Changing the systems that keep stubborn problems like homelessness or racism in place. Its easy to talk about. Everyone seems interested. Few people are quite sure what it means or practice or how to evaluate it. This inquiry framework offers one way to think about, plan and evaluate such efforts....
The idea that diverse organizations in the community working together can improve their chances of success by adopting 'shared measurements' is one of the core principles of the wildly popular collective impact approach to social change. This paper argues that the 'why' of shared measurement is clear, but the practice...