Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (Legacy funding scheme)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: Sociology
Abstract
Since 2016, CECAN has established a reputation and 'brand' in the public sector and is the focal point for a wide network interested in the application of complexity and systems thinking in government. The overall aim of this proposal for Legacy funding is to maintain and enhance these, while continuing to provide resources for those wanting to learn more about or develop methods for the evaluation of complexity in public policy.
Our plans therefore encompass knowledge dissemination and exchange activities; user engagement; support for PGRs and ECR training; social media and web outreach; and support of activities that will promote and support related research.
The continuation of CECAN will have significant support from the host institution, the University of Surrey, with ESRC's contribution matched from the University's own funds. In addition the University will provide 20% of the Director's time at no cost to the ESRC, and will not charge indirect or estate costs.
The University of Surrey will also set aside a budget from its core funding to appoint a Deputy Director of CECAN at an appropriate level. The person appointed, who would become a tenured member of the faculty, would be in line to take over the Directorship if the current Director, Prof. Gilbert, were to step down during the period of Legacy funding.
Our plans therefore encompass knowledge dissemination and exchange activities; user engagement; support for PGRs and ECR training; social media and web outreach; and support of activities that will promote and support related research.
The continuation of CECAN will have significant support from the host institution, the University of Surrey, with ESRC's contribution matched from the University's own funds. In addition the University will provide 20% of the Director's time at no cost to the ESRC, and will not charge indirect or estate costs.
The University of Surrey will also set aside a budget from its core funding to appoint a Deputy Director of CECAN at an appropriate level. The person appointed, who would become a tenured member of the faculty, would be in line to take over the Directorship if the current Director, Prof. Gilbert, were to step down during the period of Legacy funding.
Organisations
Publications
Breeze PR
(2023)
Guidance on the use of complex systems models for economic evaluations of public health interventions.
in Health economics
Squires H
(2023)
The long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of public health interventions; how can we model behavior? A review.
in Health economics
Squires H
(2024)
The PHEM-B toolbox of methods for incorporating the influences on Behaviour into Public Health Economic Models.
in BMC public health
Wentworth J
(2023)
What is a just transition for environmental targets?
Yao R
(2023)
Applications of Agent-Based Methods in Multi-Energy Systems-A Systematic Literature Review
in Energies
| Description | Our conference on "Looking Back and Looking Forward: Closing the loop from evaluation to policy making" introduced a large number of attendees from government and the public sector to the idea of complexity and its relevance to evaluation. This reinforced the move towards understanding public policy in terms of system thinking and complexity, which has grown substantially in recent years within government and the public sector, in part due to the activities of CECAN, but also with major contributions from other sources, academic, and commercial. We also continued to made an impact through our spin-out, CECAN Ltd, which is working with several government Departments and Arms-Length Bodies, including Defra, Natural England, and the Office for Environmental Protection. We pioneered Participatory System Mapping in previous phases of CECAN, and work on developing and clarifying the methodology continues. The method has been increasingly widely adopted by policy professionals and others. We and CECAN Ltd have run many workshops for policymakers to help them explore the boundaries of and causal relationships in their policy areas. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | CECAN Ltd / Durham University: Agent-Based Modelling for Social Scientists, Corinna Elsenbroich and Jen Badham, 10 - 12 Apr 2024 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Participant learning outcomes: Conceptualising agent-based models Operationalising and calibrating from data Experimenting and analysing Interpreting models Verifying and validating |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/agent-based-modelling-for-social-scientists/ |
| Description | CECAN Ltd Bespoke training and coaching for the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), 10 Feb 2025 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Commercially sensitive |
| Description | CECAN Ltd Bespoke training for NHS Midlands, online, 16 Jan 2025 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this session, participants will: Understand why and where QCA is a useful method Be able to prepare data for use in a QCA Develop a basic understanding of the fsQCA software for application for QCA |
| Description | CECAN Ltd Bespoke training for National Lottery Fund, 5 Feb 2025 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Commercial sensitive |
| Description | CECAN Ltd Bespoke training for the Office of Environmental Protection, February - March 2024 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | commercial sensitive |
| Description | CECAN Ltd CPD Online Workshop: Process Tracing, Corinna Elsenbroich, 27 Mar 2024 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this workshop, participants will: Appreciate the problems of complex evaluation Acknowledge the problem of complex causality for contribution claims Understand how and when Process Tracing can be used Work through a Process Tracing case study |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-ltd-cpd-online-workshop-process-tracing/ |
| Description | Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation Online Workshop: Module One - Complexity and its Challenges for Policy and Evaluation, Online, 21 Jun 2023, Stuart Astill and Alex Penn |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Learning Outcomes: By the end of this workshop, participants will: Be aware of the main properties of complex systems and be able to recognise these in policy-making processes and their own work, Have a shared language for discussing and exploring complexity, Understand the implications of complex systems for policy-making, analysis and evaluation - the importance of context, the limitations in complex settings of 'traditional' standardising and controlling approaches and the need for flexibility in managing and delivering evaluations. Intended Audience: These workshops are designed to support policy makers, analysts and evaluators at all levels facing complexity challenges in their current work. |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/handling-complexity-in-policy-evaluation-online-workshop-module-one-c... |
| Description | Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation Online Workshop: Module Three - Commissioning and Managing a Complex Evaluation, Online, 18 Jul 2023, Georgie Parry-Crooke and Clare Twigger-Ross |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Learning Outcomes: By the end of this workshop, participants will: Understand what it means to manage in complexity and how this applies to commissioning and managing a complex evaluation. Have a shared framework for commissioning and managing complex evaluations. Be able to specify the policy/project/programme complexity to contractors and clarify what is expected from them. Understand how the contracting relationship can accommodate the complex nature of the evaluation (e.g. non- linear, adaptive and dealing with the unexpected). Intended Audience: These workshops are designed to support policy makers, analysts and evaluators at all levels facing complexity challenges in their current work. |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/handling-complexity-in-policy-evaluation-online-workshop-module-three... |
| Description | Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation Online Workshop: Module Two - Selecting an Appropriate Evaluation Approach, Online, 6 Jul 2023, Helen Wilkinson and Richard Allen |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Learning Outcomes: By the end of this workshop, participants will: Understand the importance of using a complexity-appropriate approach to evaluation Be aware of the breadth and diversity of approaches that can be used in complex settings Be equipped with a set of tools that help identify an appropriate approach or approaches based on the evaluation purpose, the complexity attributes present, and the feasibility of approach for intended use. Intended Audience: These workshops are designed to support policy makers, analysts and evaluators at all levels facing complexity challenges in their current work. |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/handling-complexity-in-policy-evaluation-online-workshop-module-two-s... |
| Description | Handling Complexity: Adaptive and Developmental Evaluation - Essential Principles and Practice, Online, Georgie Parry-Crooke and Helen Wilkinson, 27 Jun 2024 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: understand how and why these approaches are becoming increasingly important; decide when an adaptive/developmental evaluation would be an appropriate choice; commission, manage and use an adaptive/developmental evaluation to address the challenges complexity presents; and review and quality assure proposals for, or findings and reports generated by, an adaptive/developmental evaluation carried out in a complex environment. |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/adaptive-and-developmental-evaluation-essential-principles-and-practi... |
| Description | Systems Mapping for Environmental Domains, Pete Barbrook-Johnson and Alexandra Penn, 12 Nov 2024, held at the University of Surrey |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Training outcomes: hands-on experience of constructing a systems map collaboratively enable informed decision-making on how systems mapping could be applied in context produce actionable insights on applying systems mapping |
| URL | https://accessnetwork.uk/systems-mapping-for-environmental-domains/ |
| Description | UKES / CECAN Online Masterclass - Process Tracing, Corinna Elsenbroich, 4 Feb 2025 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this session, participants will: Appreciate the problems of complex evaluation Acknowledge the problem of complex causality for contribution claims Understand how and when Process Tracing can be used Work through a Process Tracing Case Study |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/ukes-cecan-online-masterclass-process-tracing-4/ |
| Description | UKES / CECAN Online Masterclass - Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Corinna Elsenbroich, 5 Feb 2025 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this session, participants will: Understand why and where QCA is a useful method Be able to prepare data for use in a QCA Develop a basic understanding of the fsQCA software for application for QCA |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/ukes-cecan-online-masterclass-qualitative-comparative-analysis-qca-9/ |
| Description | UKES / CECAN Online Masterclass - Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Online, 13 Sep 2023, Corinna Elsenbroich |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this session, participants will: Understand why and where QCA is a useful method Be able to prepare data for use in a QCA Have basic understanding of the fsQCA software for application for QCA |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/ukes-cecan-online-masterclass-qualitative-comparative-analysis-qca-7/ |
| Description | UKES / CECAN Online Masterclass - Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Online, 5 Mar 2024, Corinna Elsenbroich |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | By the end of this session, participants will: Understand why and where QCA is a useful method Be able to prepare data for use in a QCA Have basic understanding of the fsQCA software for application for QCA |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/ukes-cecan-online-masterclass-qualitative-comparative-analysis-qca-8/ |
| Description | CECAN Blog (active and ongoing) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The CECAN blog has been active and continually updated since 2016 (see previous awards for further details). Members of the CECAN Team, CECAN Fellows, CECAN Partners and others regularly contribute to the CECAN Blog, which can be found on the CECAN website. Recent additions to the blog include: 'The Rise of AI Tools in Evaluation - Challenges and Opportunities' (Martha Bicket, 17 Sep 2024) and 'What is the role of systems thinking in evaluation? Is it the answer to wicked problems?' (Ben Shaw, 20 Dec 2024). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/blog/ |
| Description | CECAN Bluesky |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN Bluesky: CECAN created a Bluesky account in 2024 @cecan.bsky.social which is regularly used to post about CECAN events, seminars, blogs, papers, policy practice notes, other achievements. As of 3 Feb 2025, the account has 159 Followers, is following 242 accounts and has made 9 posts. Almost all posts indicate some level of engagement with Followers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| URL | https://bsky.app/profile/cecan.bsky.social |
| Description | CECAN Conference 2024 - Looking Back and Looking Forward: Closing the loop from evaluation to policy making, Hybrid Event, 4 Jun 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Event Overview: Much has changed in the conduct of policy evaluation over the last decade and there is every reason to expect that the practice of evaluation will continue to develop rapidly in the next decade. Evaluation is becoming more deeply embedded in the policy making cycle, helping policy makers develop policy that is more resilient to complexity and to the change and uncertainty this brings. At this conference we will be looking back at the trajectory and anticipating the changes to come. Join practitioners and academics in person or online to hear about the latest developments in the creation and evaluation of complex public policies and to contribute to defining priorities to move the field forward. In the morning sessions, we'll be reviewing the state of the art in policy evaluation and then move on in the afternoon to consider future developments, such as the effects of AI, evaluation under uncertainty and the influence of systems thinking. The event will include keynote presentations from Siobhan Campbell (Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland) and Paul Simmonds (UK Managing Director, Technopolis Group). Concluding comments will come from CECAN's Director, Professor Nigel Gilbert. Agenda: 10:30 - 11:00 Registration 11:00 - 11:45 Welcome & Keynote - Siobhan Campbell 11:45 - 12:30 Parallel Sessions - Evaluation: The state of the art 12:30 - 13:30 Lunch & Networking 13:30 - 14:15 Parallel Sessions - Can we do it better? 14:15 - 14:55 Keynote - Paul Simmonds 14:55 - 15:00 Summary & Close - Prof. Nigel Gilbert The conference will be of value for all those involved in policy development, delivery and evaluation. This is a hybrid event taking place at the Royal Academy Of Engineering, Prince Philip House in London and online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/looking-back-and-looking-forward-closing-the-loop-from-evaluation-to-... |
| Description | CECAN Facebook |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN Facebook: CECAN has a Facebook account which is regularly used to post about CECAN events, seminars, blogs, papers, policy practice notes, other achievements. As of 3 Feb 2025, the account has 657 Followers. Almost all posts indicate some level of engagement with Followers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/CECANEXUS/ |
| Description | CECAN LinkedIn |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN LinkedIn: CECAN has a LinkedIn account which is regularly used to post about CECAN events, seminars, blogs, papers, policy practice notes, other achievements. As of 3 Feb 2025, the account has 577 Followers. Almost all posts indicate some level of engagement with Followers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| URL | https://www.linkedin.com/company/cecanexus/ |
| Description | CECAN News Update - July 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN's newsletter is sent approximately every 3-4 months to the CECAN mailing list, which includes over 1000 members (e.g. policymakers, policy analysts, evaluation professionals) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/ff3caea8608e/46i5hbo49y-6274121 |
| Description | CECAN Newsletter - December 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN's newsletter is sent approximately every 3-4 months to the CECAN mailing list, which includes over 1000 members (e.g. policymakers, policy analysts, evaluation professionals) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/29991b1f1aa9/46i5hbo49y-6656070 |
| Description | CECAN Newsletter - February 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN's newsletter is sent approximately every 3-4 months to the CECAN mailing list, which includes over 1000 members (e.g. policymakers, policy analysts, evaluation professionals) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/12a2dc187496/46i5hbo49y-6701130 |
| Description | CECAN Newsletter - January 2025 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN's newsletter is sent approximately every 3-4 months to the CECAN mailing list, which includes over 1000 members (e.g. policymakers, policy analysts, evaluation professionals) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/5449720f300e/46i5hbo49y-6743618 |
| Description | CECAN Newsletter - May 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN's newsletter is sent approximately every 3-4 months to the CECAN mailing list, which includes over 1000 members (e.g. policymakers, policy analysts, evaluation professionals) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/98587a234afe/46i5hbo49y-6733546 |
| Description | CECAN Newsletter - October 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN's newsletter is sent approximately every 3-4 months to the CECAN mailing list, which includes over 1000 members (e.g. policymakers, policy analysts, evaluation professionals) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/f7d032813df0/46i5hbo49y-6742182 |
| Description | CECAN Twitter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CECAN Twitter: CECAN has a Twitter account @cecanexus which is regularly used to post about CECAN events, seminars, blogs, papers, policy practice notes, other achievements. As of 3 Feb 2025, the account has 1,626 Followers, is following 250 accounts and has made 1,167 Tweets. Almost all Tweets indicate some level of engagement with Followers. NOTE that this Twitter account started under CECAN1 in 2016 and has run continuously ever since. As advised by ESRC, all impacts from 1 March 2023 are recorded under CECAN's legacy funding, ES/Y001907/1 hence this entry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/cecanexus |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: Demystifying system thinking from within Defra - Reflections from case studies, Online, 12 Dec 2023, 9.30am, Dan McGonigle and Betheney Wills |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenters: Dan McGonigle and Betheney Wills (Defra) Webinar Overview: Environmental policy is inherently complex. Outcomes on biodiversity, water quality, air quality, net zero, climate adaptation and food security are interdependent and affected in different ways by many interacting drivers. Policymakers need to consider where to intervene to meet goals whilst avoiding unexpected trade-offs. Defra established its systems research programme in 2019 to help the department navigate such complexity. Since then, a wide range of systems projects have been undertaken covering various aspects of Defra's remit and applying a range of systems methodologies. Dan McGonigle will talk through some of the insights that have been gained through this work and some reflections on applying systems approaches to policy problems. To compliment the work of Defra's system research programme, Betheney has championed system thinking, with a focus on causal mapping, within the Marine and Fisheries Directorate. Betheney will reflect on multiple dependency and Participatory System Mapping exercises she has facilitated and led, spanning both evidence and policy programmes. Betheney will also touch on other approaches applied to spread system thinking, including the formation, and running of the Ocean Sustainability system book club. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-demystifying-system-thinking-from-within-defra-reflecti... |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: Embracing complexity: Using systems thinking to improve responses to child criminal exploitation - Lessons from and for system thinking in public service delivery, Online, 9 Jul 2024, 1pm, Jo Reilly |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenter: Jo Reilly, Visiting Scholar, Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge Webinar Overview: Drawing on the findings of a Policy Fellowship with the Royal Academy of Engineering, Jo Reilly discusses how the application of systems thinking principles might help law enforcement agencies better protect vulnerable people from criminal exploitation. The talk will cover; A brief overview of child criminal exploitation (CCE): explaining what we mean by CCE; what we know about its key drivers; what we know about what can make children and adults vulnerable to exploitation; and outlining how current child protection systems have not been designed to respond to extra-familial harm (sometimes also referred to as risk outside the home); Moving from displacing risk to removing risk: providing examples of how risk is often displaced rather than removed; describing the dangers of inadvertently pushing risk to more hidden, harmful places; providing suggestions on how Home Office and law enforcement agencies might better understand and predict the ripple effects of disruption interventions; Placing this thinking in a wider context: in a context of struggling public service and strain on public finances, how realistic is it to talk about applying system thinking principles to reform mindset and practice in this space? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-embracing-complexity-using-systems-thinking-to-improve-... |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: From the Individual to the Collective: Narrative and Participatory Approaches to Evaluating Complex Human Systems, Online, 13 Mar 2024, 1pm, Beth Smith |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenter: Beth Smith (Principal Consultant at The Cynefin Co) Webinar Overview: The Cynefin Co has developed tools, methods and approaches for complex evaluation grounded in the foundations set by the Cynefin framework. A key principle is that complex human systems need both narrative and quantitative indicators to be understood and evaluated. This insight has led to the development of the SenseMaker® tool. In this webinar Beth will bring together theory and practice to show how narratives are powerful tools for uncovering hidden dynamics, values, and beliefs within communities and organisations, and how analysing narratives effectively requires more than just collecting stories - it demands a nuanced understanding of context, language, and the intricacies of human experience. Drawing upon a range of international case studies and academic literature, this webinar will explore issues of epistemic injustice in evaluation, participatory methods and the balancing act between human intelligence and big data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-from-the-individual-to-the-collective-narrative-and-par... |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: Innovation as a complex system: delivering a systems framework to measure impact within deep tech, Online, 7 Oct 2024, 1pm, Brian MacAulay and Teresa Miquel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenters: Brian MacAulay, Principal Economist and Teresa Miquel, Innovation Partner at Digital Catapult Webinar Overview: Digital Catapult is the UK's leading advanced digital technology innovation centre. It works with a range of organisations - including start-ups and scaleups, established businesses, investors, government and public sector, research and academia - to discover new ways of solving industry challenges, increase productivity and open up new markets. Digital Catapult exemplifies a complex system because of its multi-stakeholder nature, interdisciplinary collaboration, dynamic interactions, network effects, adaptability, non-linear outcomes, resource management, and broader economic impact. The challenge was how to operationalise a framework to measure the impact generated by its interventions. Brian MacAulay, Principal Economist and Teresa Miquel, Innovation Partner at Digital Catapult will present their approach to measuring outcomes through a complex systems approach. The presentation will cover: • Developing the initial methodology in partnership with CECAN • Presenting the Theory of Change and linkages to Digital Catapult's Strategic Outcomes • Describing their Outcomes Measurement Framework and examples of applications within Digital Catapult |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-innovation-as-a-complex-system-delivering-a-systems-fra... |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: Integrating Health, Wellbeing, Nature and Sustainability (HWNS) into local, strategic planning: learning from the co-development of a practical systems approach to place-making, Online, 24 Apr 2024, 1pm, Jemma Sharman |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenter: Jemma Sharman, Principal Specialist, Chief Scientist Directorate, Natural England Webinar Overview: "The care of human life and happiness is the first and only legitimate object of good government." Thomas Jefferson Natural England, with partners including the Environment Agency, Local Partnerships, What Works Wellbeing and Local Authorities, have been co-developing and testing a systems approach that aims to support better outcomes across health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability (HWNS) through local place-making. We know that high quality health and wellbeing, supported by a healthy natural environment, are the basis for thriving local places and people. And yet, we also know that local authorities and other organisations involved in place-making are grappling with a challenging range of issues, from nature and climate emergencies to health and wellbeing crises. The HWNS approach has been co-developed as a high-level, inter-disciplinary decision-support framework that prioritises health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability outcomes, putting these at the centre of strategic planning conversations. It includes practical resources, including participatory systems mapping software (PRSM), to bring together different sectors, support integrated planning, and bridge the gap between technical information and practical solutions. In this webinar Jemma will share the background to the co-development of HWNS, learning from the initial prototype testing with local authorities and outline future plans for influencing local place-making. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-integrating-health-wellbeing-nature-and-sustainability-... |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: Navigating System Change Evaluation: reflections on how to know you are making progress in shifting systems, Online, 2 May 2024, 1pm, Madeline Goldie & Jessica Davies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenters: Madeline Goldie & Jessica Davies, Social Finance Webinar Overview: Social Finance, in partnership with the System Innovation Initiative, spent 12 months between 2022 and 2023 exploring how evaluation works for system change. Motivated by our work in recent years to unpack and explore how system change comes about, we and many others across the social impact space are increasingly asking how to know we are making progress? To start to answer this, we spoke to 50+ system change practitioners, funders and evaluators globally to learn how people are approach the topic, what is working, what isn't working, and what the implications might be for those funding system change, as well as those leading it. Building on this research, as well as over a decade's practical experience working with our partners across a range of sectors on large-scale system change projects, in this webinar, we will share our insights and reflections on: Why is evaluating system change so hard? How should evaluation adapt, and what should it not lose? What does system change evaluation look like in practice? How might we track progress? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-navigating-system-change-evaluation-reflections-on-how-... |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: New Economic Models of the Energy Transition, Online, 26 Sep 2023, 1pm, Pete Barbrook-Johnson, Simon Sharpe, Femke Nijsse and Fernanda Senra de Moura |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenters: Dr. Pete Barbrook-Johnson (University of Oxford), Simon Sharpe (UNFCCC Climate Champions and WRI), Dr. Femke Nijsse (University of Exeter), and Dr. Fernanda Senra de Moura (University of Oxford) Webinar Overview: This webinar will present work from the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (EEIST) project, a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Children's Investment Fund Foundation funded project applying complexity and systems approaches in ex ante appraisal of energy and climate policy. With partners in China, India, Brazil, and the UK, they have implemented a range of policy-led case studies applying methods such as systems mapping, agent-based modelling, system dynamics, and disequilibrium macroeconomic modelling. In this webinar, the presenters will: Share some of their most pertinent examples relevant to CECAN; Introduce their broader complexity-appropriate approach to appraisal, known as 'risk-opportunity analysis' (an expanded form of cost-benefit analysis); and Attempt to draw connections across the policy cycle with the work of CECAN. You can read more about EEIST's work at https://eeist.co.uk/eeist-reports/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-new-economic-models-of-the-energy-transition/ |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: SIPHER's Synthetic Population - An Introduction, Online, 24 Feb 2024, 1pm, Nik Lomax |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenter: Nik Lomax (Professor of Population Geography at the University of Leeds, Co-Director of the Consumer Data Research Centre and Co-Investigator for the SIPHER Consortium). Webinar Overview: Systems Science in Public Health and Health Economics Research (SIPHER) is a research consortium which uses systems science methods to support policy decision making with the aim of improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. In this presentation, Nik will provide an overview of SIPHER's synthetic population, including how it was developed, how it can be used to support decision making as well as strengths and limitations. The lack of a comprehensive register-based system in Great Britain has made it challenging to access data on individuals across multiple domains. The synthetic population helps bridge this gap by providing a representative, attribute-rich dataset representing individuals within the whole of the GB population that can be used for micro-level modelling. It is constructed from Understanding Society, Census and mid-year estimate data with spatial identifiers for Lower Super Output Areas in England and Wales and Data Zones in Scotland. The synthetic dataset will be of use to anyone who wishes to understand the spatial distribution of attributes including health, housing status, education and employment. It can be used to assess the spatial and sub-group impact that a policy might have. The data can be accessed via the UK data Service as CSV files which means users can analyse the data using their statistical package of choice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-siphers-synthetic-population-an-introduction/ |
| Description | CECAN Webinar: Setting Boundaries in Evaluation; The role of Critical Systems Heuristics, Online, 18 Oct 2023, 10am, Bob Williams |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presenter: Bob Williams, Evaluator Webinar Overview: Evaluation is all about selecting boundaries. Establishing the purposes of the evaluation, determining the criteria used to evaluate it and working out who should benefit from the evaluation, are all about deciding what is 'in' and what is 'out'. Furthermore, we are inevitably evaluating the boundary decisions taken (or imposed on) the evaluand. C West Churchman, Professor of Management at Berkeley University, argued that these choices are not only technical but deeply ethical; there will be winners and losers from these decisions. And thus argued that key boundary decisions should be subjected to critical appraisal. But what are they? In the complexity of this range of boundary choices, each impacting on other boundary choices, it is difficult to identify what the critical boundary choices are - and what they ought to be. Social researcher and evaluator, Werner Ulrich, developed Critical Systems Heuristics based on Churchman's ideas. The heuristics comprise 12 questions grouped around four core decision areas that every endeavour undertakes. These questions challenge evaluators to think deeply about the purposes of their evaluations and the criteria they develop to achieve those purposes. This interactive presentation will use a case example to explore the use of Critical Systems Heuristics in evaluation design, implementation and reporting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/events/cecan-webinar-setting-boundaries-in-evaluation-the-role-of-critical-s... |
| Description | Liz Varga was invited to present to Modelling World 2023, 'Agent Based Models for infrastructure modelling', 3 Nov 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Liz Varga presented as part of Modelling World 2023 on 'Agent Based Models for infrastructure modelling', held in Birmingham from 2 - 3 Nov. The presentation was held on 3 Nov at 11:30am. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.modelling-world.com/conference-programme-2023 |
| Description | Nigel Gilbert invited to be a panelist at the ESRC IAA National Conference - 29/30th January 2025, Guildford |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Nigel Gilbert was invited to be a panelist at the ESRC IAA National Conference - 29/30th January 2025, Guildford (approx. 70 attendees). The topic of the talk was 'Commercialisation Through Social Venture Building' and Nigel discussed CECAN/CECAN Ltd. CECAN also hosted an exhibition table at the conference, sharing the Centre's work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |