Making sense of complex systems
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The next session of the Motives for Measurement peer learning group will explore how sense making tools can help us to understand diverse insights and evidence in complex systems.
Session recording
Listen to the audio recording of the session.
At the last session, we discussed the challenges of incorporating a very different kind of measurement - rich, qualitative insights from community engagement - into government decision making, as well as the benefits this can bring.
At this session, we'll explore one approach to processing and making sense of this kind of complex evidence. Sam Magne, Knowledge & Learning Manager at the National Lottery Community Fund (and long-time Motives for Measurement member!), will introduce the topic of sense making, and explain why she felt it was a valuable topic for the group to explore.
We'll then hear from two users of sensemaking in different contexts. Irene Guijt (Head of Evidence and Strategic Learning at Oxfam) will discuss her experience of the digital SenseMaker tool to process individual's stories in international development, discussing the advantages and limitations of the tool and broader approach. Zahra Bazarganianpour, Afroz Mehar Qureshi and Andy Crosbie are part of the Gateshead Coordination Team, doing place-based, community-focused systems change work building on collective sense making among community members. Community Bridgebuilders Zahra and Afroz will describe a Language Inquiry working with refugees and asylum seekers who are excluded from most language courses, while Andy will speak about a second inquiry which focuses on devolved decision making about funding within a local community.
As always, there'll then be time for questions and discussion among the group.