Zenda Ofir, Author at EVALUATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

Transforming Evaluations and COVID-19, Part 1. A GPS for complex terrain.

March 29, 2020 Zenda Ofir 10

**6 min read** We are at a transformative moment in the history of humankind and of our planet. During this extraordinary time and beyond, the global evaluation community will have to hone and reposition evaluation, in close alignment with research, ... Read more »

Ten vital competencies for post-normal evaluation, Part 2

March 12, 2020 Zenda Ofir 0

**6 min read** Do we as evaluation professionals need a dramatic shift in our thinking about evaluation competencies if we are to contribute powerfully to the changes the world needs now? Where do we start to think about the competencies ... Read more »

Snippet: Ten tips to start shifting to systems-informed evaluation

November 13, 2019 Zenda Ofir 1

**3 min read** As one of three facilitators at a recent 3-day workshop organised in Connecticut by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) on ‘Assessing Systems Change’, I shared the following tips to inspire evaluation professionals to start integrating (complex) systems thinking ... Read more »

Learning from China’s transformation. Part 4 – Dominant narratives, alternative perspectives

May 12, 2019 Zenda Ofir 0

**10 min read** We need fresh narratives about how the world works, and why, and what to do to solve its complex problems. We need ‘Two-eyed Seeing’. We need Nuance. Pluralism. Diversity. Alternative frameworks, models, worldviews, perspectives. This notion is ... Read more »

Learning from China’s transformation. Part 3 – Seeing through others’ eyes

May 9, 2019 Zenda Ofir 1

**5 min read** Some years ago I was on an evaluation assignment in the Mekong region, dealing with labour issues. In an interview in a (Western) embassy the diplomat vehemently argued that the population should vote the government out of ... Read more »

Learning from China’s transformation. Part 2 – Why NOT China? Towards an ‘ecological civilization’.

April 16, 2019 Zenda Ofir 1

**10 min read** As evaluators we cannot afford to get caught up in narratives – usually devoid of nuance – that aim to create negative mental models of a certain society. This second and also the third post in this ... Read more »

Learning from China’s transformation. Part 1 – Why China?

April 14, 2019 Zenda Ofir 5

Evaluators have an imperative to learn from success. Today we are fortunate: Those of us working in development or evaluation can learn from one of the greatest transformational development success stories of all time. For the first time in history ... Read more »

Snippet: How data visualisation can mislead

January 9, 2019 Zenda Ofir 4

**2 min read** We live in an era of ‘big data’ and ‘big information’. We work in an increasingly quantified world devoid of the nuance that qualitative information provides. We also live in an era of ‘scanning’. We don’t want ... Read more »