Evaluation amidst complexity: Eight evaluation questions to explain how complex adaptive systems affect program impact

Abstract

International development assistance is increasingly being seen as operating within complex adaptive systems. Evaluators have been developing new methods and approaches that are compatible with the dynamic and unpredictable realities of complex adaptive systems, which are composed of many separate but interacting agents and groups. However, these new methods are not easily implemented in a conventional commissioned end-of-program evaluation. This article builds on what is known about how complex adaptive systems’ properties affect program performance to propose eight evaluation questions. The findings from the questions will reveal if implementers were aware of and responded effectively to complex adaptive systems’ properties. The eight questions can be incorporated within a conventional evaluation to create a plausible narrative for program impact and inform the design and implementation of other programs.