Join us for a lunch and learn with Beverly Parsons and Katie Winters to learn about Eco-Just Systems Transformation
A collaborative event between Seattle Evaluation Association (SEA) and Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN), hosted by SEA.
More and more, today’s problems are framed as “structural” or “systemic”. Evaluators have an important role to play in addressing them, yet many of the system-based methods gaining traction among evaluators are grounded in the dominant mechanistic worldview that’s at the heart of the problems we’re facing.
In their recent article "Paradigm-Based Evaluation for Eco-Just Systems Transformation" published in the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, Beverly and Katie work with the two intertwined paradigms (i.e., worldviews) that underlie our social and ecological systems. They describe them, their historical roots, and their differing connections to clusters of system science concepts. They then offer an evaluation design process to support systems transformation toward a just and ecologically healthy civilization.
In this lunch and learn, Beverly and Katie will introduce key tenets of systems evaluation and present how the concepts from their article both fit into this framework and offer more powerful ways to engage in systems evaluation that lead to and cultivate true transformation. This webinar will serve as a brief introduction to systems approaches for those less familiar, and offer new avenues in the field for those who are. There will be powerful takeaways for everyone in the evaluation space, regardless of how long you have been engaging in evaluation work or what field you work within. At the end, there will be an opportunity for participants to share ways this impacts their work.
Presenter Bios
Beverly Parsons is President and Executive Director of InSites, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization. InSites works through inquiry-based evaluation, planning, and research to support learning, growth, and change in formal and informal social systems. InSites pays particular attention to how social systems attend to environmental sustainability, social justice, economic well-being, and community development. Beverly served as president of the American Evaluation Association in 2014. She is currently on the board of the International Evaluation Academy. She holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Research and Evaluation (University of Colorado) and a B.S. in Medical Technology (University of Wisconsin). She has certificates in Sustainable Business, Human Systems Dynamics, and Appreciative Inquiry facilitation.
Katie Winters is a Principal Consultant with Insight for Action where she applies the tools of social research, evaluation, and systems thinking to support communities and organizations to do strategic, impactful work. Viewing life as composed of highly entangled, self-organizing networks, her methods are pluralist, flexible and iterative, supporting data-informed reflection and action at the nexus of social welfare, public health, education, and environmental sustainability. Katie’s approach is culturally responsive and equity-centered, uplifting the voices of those who are most impacted by a project, program, or initiative. Katie has taught graduate level courses in social research methods and ethics and actively publishes and presents on research and evaluation topics in the US and abroad. She has also trained executives, managers, and direct service providers in the theory and practice of evaluation and has supported organizations to develop learning frameworks for their strategies. She currently serves on the board of the American Evaluation Association Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation Topical Interest Group. Previously, was on the board of the Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN) for five years, completing her tenure as president in 2017. Katie holds a master’s degree in evaluation from Claremont Graduate University and a PhD in Social Work and Social Research from Portland State University. She lives in Portland, OR.
