12 research outputs found
A systems approach to policy evaluation
There is growing interest in evaluating policy implementation in ways that grapple with the complexity of the process. This article offers an example of using systems methodology to explore how the child protection policy in child contact centres has functioned in practice. Rather than just asking the traditional evaluation question âis it working?â this study sought to understand how the policy was working and how it was interpreted as it interacted with other systems, producing conflicts, local variation and emergent effects. It illustrates how the systems concepts of âemergenceâ, âlocal rationalityâ, âsocio-technical systemsâ and âfeedback for learningâ can contribute new knowledge and understanding to a complex policy evaluation problem