Generative AI is increasingly being used in products, services and professional work, but evaluating whether it is helping requires more than checking its outputs. This post draws on established approaches to planning, indicators, evaluative rubrics and monitoring, evaluation and learning.
Organisations evidence participation through its visible products: workshops held, submissions received, themes identified, reports produced. Much of the documentary record around those activities can now be generated in minutes. That makes it possible to produce a convincing account of a
Not everyone needs to be in every meeting. This reflection looks at how people get involved in collaborative work over time. It considers why they have different needs and reasons for becoming involved, how some stay connected through others they
Place-based change rarely happens in one room. It unfolds across communities, agencies, knowledge work, governance, engagement and implementation. This post explores why distributed collaborative planning needs a wider “runsheet” – a shared process design that helps those different parts of
Many teams, workshops and collaborative processes are starting to use AI to summarise notes, draft strategies, cluster themes, prepare options and review emerging ideas. These uses can be valuable, especially when they help people move from scattered material to something
The recent Global Justice Report offers one possible picture of a fairer and more sustainable future. What interests me is not only the future it describes, but how we work with ambitious futures once they have been made thinkable. A
Facilitation is often thought of as the craft of running good meetings and workshops. That craft matters. But in longer collaborative processes, facilitation also involves designing the conditions through which people can keep learning, deciding and acting together over time.
This post introduces Theory of Change as a practical way to support shared thinking, surface assumptions and connect strategy with learning. It also points to an updated Learning for Sustainability resource page with curated and annotated links to guides, papers
Problem framing shapes what becomes visible, who is involved, and what kinds of action seem possible. This post reflects on why complex, multi-actor work needs more than a quick move from issue to solution. It also considers how models, frameworks,
Indicators are most useful when they help people notice what matters, discuss what they are learning and make better decisions. This post introduces a new guide for practitioners working with indicators in place-based initiatives, from catchment projects and climate adaptation
This site curates annotated links to tools and frameworks for people working in complex, multi-actor settings. It also shows how different dimensions of practice fit together across real-world contexts.
If you’re looking for tailored support – whether that’s short advisory input, process design, reflective coaching, or strategic writing – you’re welcome to get in touch or visit my bio and services page to learn more. I work collaboratively on facilitation, evaluation, and learning design, often during early-stage or time-limited phases.
Visit some of my reflections on collaborative practice and learning in complex, multi-actor settings.
This site is free for everyone, but not free to maintain. If you find it useful, you might consider a small contribution, about the cost of a cup of coffee, to help keep it going.
Visit core pages introducing key themes, approaches, and frameworks for supporting collaboration and learning in complex, multi-actor contexts.
