On being busy

I have not blogged for a while due to the fact that I have been involved in multiple projects which have left no time for blogging or much other networking. We are currently involved hands-on in developing many comprehensive DoView Results Maps (TM) (outcomes models/logic models) for many public sector and not-for-profit organizations. This is exciting work as we can see that the basic methodology can be applied in any setting from a very large government department right down to a small community organization. I have also been having input into DoView for Mac which will finally be released soon and DoView 3.0 which has many of the features that people have been asking for in DoView. I have also been doing some international travel – teaching our methodology to the UNFPA Arab and Africa region countries in South Africa and teaching it in Abu Dhabi to people from the Middle East.

Meantime I have been implementing a commitment to keeping my work-life balance under control and spending time with the kids. So blogging has taken a lower priority for a little while. However, I’m planning on getting back to it to get out the interesting material and resources we have been developing. So watch this space.

Paul Duignan, PhD. (Follow me on my OutcomesBlog.org; Twitter; or via my E-Newsletter; many resources at OutcomesCentral.org

Visual model of what I'm trying to do with my outcomes work

Thought that I would apply a taste of my own medicine to my own work, so I drew a visual outcomes model of what it is that I’m trying to do with my work in the outcomes area. It is here. At the top is my high level outcome ‘Make working with outcomes, monitoring, evaluation etc. easier’ and below that is all of the lower-level steps I am using to get to this high-level outcome. I have included hyperlinks out to the various web sites where I am attempting to do the things listed in the lower-level steps.

Paul Duignan, PhD

Outcomes and Evaluation Blog (OutcomesBlog.org)

What's in a definition?

I have not blogged for a number of weeks due to family illness and a bereavement. However, now I am back on deck and planning to increase the frequency of my blogs – shorter on some occassions and more often, but there will still be some substatial ones for those who want substance. If there are any issues you want me to blog on, or any questions you would like me to answer in future blogs, just post a comment to this posting.First up, I have now added to the Outcomes Theory Knowledge Base a set of definitions as they are used in outcomes theory.

Reorganizing outcomes sites into Outcomes Central

We’ve just reorganized our outcomes sites to make them more accessible to users. Outcomescentral.org now lists and describes our integrated set of six outcomes sites – a one stop shop setting out just about everything one might want to know about outcomes. Outcomes theory – the concepts behind all outcomes systems; Systematic Outcomes Analysis – a comprehensive applied system for working with outcomes; DoView – outcomes software for working with outcomes and evaluation plans; Easy Outcomes – a user-friendly approach applying Systematic Outcomes Analysis using DoView; Outcomes Models – a collection of outcomes models (program logics, strategic maps, ends-means diagrams) you can download, play with, amend and use for your own projects; this Outcomes Blog you’re reading here – new thinking about outcomes, strategy and evaluation; and finally a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page which is designed to head you in the right direction to get what you want from our set of six integrated outcomes sites.

Introduction to Outcomes Blog

This blog is about outcomes theory, evaluation, indicator monitoring, performance management, evidence-based practice and related topics. I specialize in these areas. While these topics sound a little dry, getting outcomes systems right has lots of implications for the workplace, politics and life in general. For instance, many of us have to struggle to convince our employers or other stakeholders that we’re delivering the results they want, sometimes its because we’ve not delivered; but on many other occasions it’s because we’re working with a poorly designed outcomes system. Looking wider than just the world of work, we can find areas where aspects of outcomes theory can help us understand what is going on around us. For instance many, if not most, of the disputes we read about in politics are arguments about attribution (who can prove who actually caused what) and accountability (who should actually be praised or blamed for causing it).

A general approach to thinking about outcomes systems of all sorts has now been developed (outcomestheory.org). It’ll appeal to those who’re interested in a comprehensive way of analyzing the concepts behind outcomes or performance management systems of all types. Any feedback from those who are interested in such theory would be appreciated. For those of you who are more hands-on, there’s an applied system based on outcomes theory called Systematic Outcomes Analysis (systematicoutcomesanalysis.org). Elements of this approach are currently being applied in a range of organizations and sectors and I’ll be talking about some examples of how it can be applied on this blog along with many examples of issues in thinking about and decision-making around outcomes.

Paul Duignan (outcomesblog.org)<!– –>