The new IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment is being read as a wake-up call for business and finance. It is. But it is also a quieter call for stronger organisational capability, coordination and ongoing adaptation. This post reflects on what
Programmes end, but places and relationships continue, and responsibilities often extend beyond formal mandates. In complexity-aware approaches to evaluation, design, and strategy, the artefacts we create shape what is carried forward and how learning, value, and accountability are understood over
Complexity-aware evaluation is often discussed in terms of methods and tools. In long-term, place-based work, some of the harder design questions sit earlier and later than method choice. They concern how evaluation operates in real institutional settings, and what it
Many climate adaptation and systems-change initiatives, including those focused on biodiversity, water, food, and health, struggle because collaboration and learning are not explicitly designed or resourced to hold the work together over time. In a polycrisis, where multiple crises interact
Indicators are often treated as neutral measures of progress. In practice, they only make sense through judgement, conversation, and institutional context. Drawing on place-based environmental programmes, this post reflects on why indicators need to be revisited, interpreted, and sometimes reworked
As AI moves from individual use into meetings, workshops, strategy sessions, and collaborative writing, it increasingly enters the room with us. Some find this useful, while others experience unease, often voiced in terms of the tools themselves. Looked at more
Experienced reviewers will recognise that peer review is rarely straightforward. Some of the hardest moments tend to sit not in applying criteria for methodology or technique, but in how judgement is exercised, how a paper is being read, and where
People working in place-based, multi-actor initiatives do not need convincing that their world is complex. The harder question is how to organise that work in ways that reduce friction, support good decisions, and hold up over time. This reflection looks
As commentators argue over whether COP30 was a failure or a fragile step forward, this post looks at the summit through a transition lens. It explores what happens when many actors try to move together, why COPs are better at
Scaling is often understood as taking a successful approach and expanding it to new places or larger populations. Yet in complex, multi-actor settings such as development, environmental management, health, and community-led change, change rarely travels so neatly. This post reflects
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.
