⁉ ↔ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 (𝐂𝐒𝐇), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

⬛ It is nearly impossible to evaluate a whole open system. We must define the boundaries of the system to gain valuable insights and effectively use our resources. As Emily Gates and Raquel Muñiz express, “It is not possible to examine a situation or system of interest in its entirety or from all possible perspectives. Boundaries inevitably determine what is included and excluded, which can have practical, political, and ethical consequences”.

⬛ CSH is a systemic approach that administers an in-depth analysis to define boundaries and assists us in arriving at a desirable and feasible way forward. CSH helps evaluate a system’s validity by analysing four boundaries:
🔲 Basis of purpose– Who does and does not benefit from an intervention and evaluation?
🔲 Basis of control – Who controls the necessary resources to achieve those benefits, and who has autonomy over those resources? And who has the ultimate control over whether those resources are available?
🔲 Basis of knowledge: Whose and what knowledge and expertise is used in managing these resources? What knowledge systems are used? What knowledge systems are ignored?
🔲 Basis of legitimacy – Whose or what interests must be satisfied to ensure the benefits occur? This is a choice between the ideal desirability and the actual feasibility.

⬛ CSH practitioners ask three questions for each of the four boundaries, answering in the ideal mode (what the situation should be – the ‘ought’ mode) and the descriptive mode (what the situation is in reality – the ‘is’ mode). For example, the first question for the ‘Motivation’ boundary is: Who is (ought to be) the client? Whose interests are (ought to be) served?

⬛ Check out our top resources here:
https://lnkd.in/d-tv5QKm
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⏹ At the EES Rimini Conference in September 2024, Bob Williams will lead a Professional Development Workshop titled “Getting to Valuing: Critical Systems Heuristics in Evaluation Practice.” This one-day workshop will explore the practical aspects of CSH in designing, implementing, and reporting evaluations and how evaluators can reflect on their evaluation practices.
Register for the EES Conference and Professional Development Workshops at https://lnkd.in/dbHkRzc3

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