EnCompass is glad to announce that another member of our team, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Kimberly Norris, has taken a leadership role with an American Evaluation Association (AEA) Topical Interest Group. She is now co-chair of the Systems in Evaluation Topical Interest Group (SETIG), which works to expand understanding and application of systems thinking in evaluation practice.
Dr. Norris has been a member of the SETIG since its inception. Over the years, she has led panels and sessions on improving monitoring, evaluation, and learning at AEA. In 2017 and 2018, she collaboratively co-authored Principles for Effective Use of Systems Thinking in Evaluation with other SETIG members.
“I’m delighted to join the SETIG leadership team,” Dr. Norris said, “It feels great to bring some of the strong systems thinking we use in our EnCompass work to the broader AEA community—a community of evaluators who have provided me with countless hours of inspiration.”
The SETIG’s current focus, under the leadership of Dr. Norris and the other co-chairs, is on practical applications of the principles. This includes providing more resources that emphasize the “how” in applying systems thinking and the “what” that systems-based approaches bring to evaluations. It also means building connections and finding ways to share experiences across the evaluation community. At the annual AEA conference, the SETIG will collaborate with other Topical Interest Groups to explore intersections of systems thinking in, for example, culturally responsive or ecology-focused evaluations.
To learn more about Dr. Norris’ work and contributions to the AEA SETIG, have a look at her previous post on systems thinking in Appreciative Inquiry, one of EnCompass’ signature approaches to evaluation.