Volume 28 (2022) Article 34
Complex systems methods for impact evaluation: lessons from the evaluation of an environmental boundary organisation
by Mark S. Reed, Peter Barbrook-Johnson
Published online: 19.11.2022
Summary
Successfully managing complex environmental issues in multifunctional habitats requires the integration of knowledge from diverse and often conflicting sources. As a result, there is a growing need for boundary organisations to exchange knowledge, co-produce plans, and facilitate action that could not be led by any single interested/affected party alone. This article evaluates the impact of a boundary organisation that sought over ten years to bring together disparate partners to protect, restore and sustainably manage peatlands in the UK. The evaluation was done using Participatory Systems Mapping to develop a systems-based Theory of Change map, via workshops with the organisation’s staff and steering group members supplemented by qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with key partners. The findings show the pivotal role of this boundary organisation in advancing new evidence-informed peatland policy and practice. This success was driven by its ability to convene different interested/affected parties and facilitate knowledge exchange between networks that would otherwise have had limited engagement, along with the creation of a financial mechanism to fund the achievement of its aims. This is one of the first evaluations using participatory systems methods that have been able to assess causal drivers of benefits for the natural environment arising from an environmental boundary organisation. As such, the study provides lessons for the design and operation of boundary organisations working on environmental issues, and for impact evaluation more widely. Complex systems methods have the potential to integrate evidence from multiple sources and to trace non-linear causal relationships through complex systems of actions and impacts, and thus to provide robust evidence of impact.
Citation
Reed, M.S., Barbrook-Johnson, P. (2022) Complex systems methods for impact evaluation: lessons from the evaluation of an environmental boundary organisation. Mires and Peat, 28, 34, 14pp. (Online: http://www.mires-and-peat.net/pages/volumes/map28/map2834.php); doi:
10.19189/MaP.2022.OMB.569
Reviewers
IMCG and IPS
acknowledge the work of the reviewers. |