Evaluating Systems Change - Design This post is a response to "How Might We Zoom Out to Evaluating With a Systemic View?" Read more of the conversation here. Much of the work we do in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors is about changing systems to accelerate social progress. By its very definition, a system is an arrangement (pattern, design) of parts which interact with each other within the system's boundaries (form, structure, organization) to function as a whole. At FSG Social Impact Advisors, we have become increasingly involved in evaluating initiatives that involve multiple sites and varied project implementation strategies. What is the system? Some wonderful folks from the Ball Foundation, who partner with mid-size urban school districts committed to transforming schooling and learning, take a systems view of their work and the evaluation of it. Evaluating with a systems perspective also means being intentional about the learning throughout an evaluation process.
Canadian Obesity Stats 2012 Obesity has been linked with m any chronic diseases, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancer.Note 1 To assess the health risks of obesity, the World Health Organization and Health Canada use guidelines based on Body Mass IndexNote 2 (BMI), a measure that examines weight in relation to height. BMI is defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (Table 1). In 2012, 18.4% of Canadians aged 18 and older, roughly 4.7 million adults, reported height and weight that classified them as obese. In 2012, 41.3% of men and 26.9% of women reported height and weight that classified them as overweight. When those who were classified as obese were combined with those who were overweight, 59.9% (7.7 million) of men and 45.0% (5.8 million) of women had an increased health risk because of excess weight. Description for Chart 1 In the 35 to 44 age group, significantly more men than women were obese. End notes
Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Data and Statistics: Adult Obesity - DNPAO - CDC More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. [Read abstract Journal of American Medicine (JAMA)] Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. [Read guidelines] The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. Obesity affects some groups more than others [Read abstract Journal of American Medicine (JAMA)] Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (47.8%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (32.6%), and non-Hispanic Asians (10.8%) Obesity is higher among middle age adults, 40-59 years old (39.5%) than among younger adults, age 20-39 (30.3%) or adults over 60 or above (35.4%) adults. Obesity and socioeconomic status Top of Page
Systems Concepts and Tools provide training and consultancy support in the use of systems concepts in evaluation. This includes the material below, workshops, evaluation design, and one-on-one mentoring and advice. Contact me for more details about what I can do for you and your work. Why? Because I believe strongly that the systems field can contribute strongly to the development of the evaluation field. How so ? The systems field comprises methodologies, methods and tools that are deeply evaluative. For me, systems concepts provide me with very powerful ways of exploring inter-relationships, perspectives and boundaries. •Inter-relationships are the key to understanding how programs behave. More than evaluation, the systems field has thought deeply about these three concepts and come up with approaches that can transform the way in which evaluation does its job. The material in this section indicates what is possible and how people have used systems concepts in evaluation. The methods are : Causal Loop Diagrams