Tackling wicked problems in complex ecologies - Rodney K Hopson

Tackling Wicked Problems in Complex Ecologies is a call to action, focusing on the role that evaluators can play in addressing social and economic problems. Evaluation extends beyond theories and methods, encompassing a range of proven approaches for addressing ecological complexities that drive inequities around the globe.

Bringing together leading thinkers and problem-solvers, this collection traverses the range of contexts at the frontiers of the field-from inadequate food supply and housing to unemployment and poverty. Editors Rodney Hopson and Fiona Cram demonstrate the effects of an engaged approach to evaluation, in which three considerations take center stage: its relevance, the relationships it engenders, and the responsibilities it requires. This is a handbook for tackling the social and economic problems of the twenty-first century which, though wicked, are amenable to the tools of the trade.

Rodney Hopson is Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University.Fiona Cram is Director of Katoa Ltd, a research and evaluation company in New Zealand, and Editor-in-Chief of Evaluation Matters.

"Wise and experienced evaluators will find many takeaways to guide their practice. At the same time, the examples are sufficiently illustrative to offer guidance by analogy, even to novices."-Sharon F. Rallis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Editor of American Journal of Evaluation

"The editors have assembled a group of internationally renowned contributors with unique, wide-ranging perspectives to demonstrate how a complex ecology lens can benefit evaluative thinking and practice. A serious challenge to the traditionalist approaches we know." -J. Bradley Cousins, University of Ottowa