title: Systems thinking.
abstract: Evaluation is one of many fields where "systems thinking" is popular and is said to hold great promise. However, there is disagreement about what constitutes systems thinking. Its meaning is ambiguous, and systems scholars have made diverse and divergent attempts to describe it. Alternative origins include: von Bertalanffy, Aristotle, Lao Tsu or multiple aperiodic "waves." Some scholars describe it as synonymous with systems sciences (i.e., nonlinear dynamics, complexity, chaos). Others view it as taxonomy-a laundry list of systems approaches. Within so much noise, it is often difficult for evaluators to find the systems thinking signal. Recent work in systems thinking describes it as an emergent property of four simple conceptual patterns (rules). For an evaluator to become a "systems thinker", he or she need not spend years learning many methods or nonlinear sciences. Instead, with some practice, one can learn to apply these four simple rules to existing evaluation knowledge with transformative results.
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA; Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM USA; ThinkWorks, Ithaca, NY USA. derekc@thinkandthrive.com
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Colosi
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lobdell
mesh_terms: D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D013597:Systems Analysis; D013850:Thinking