Tuesday, May 19, 12pm Eastern
Title:Scaling Deep Evaluation: Comprehensive Approaches for Measuring Relational, Cultural, Ecological, and Equity centered Change
Abstract: This workshop shares key findings from Scaling Deep: Rethinking Evaluation, Funding, and Practice for Systems Transformation—a collective inquiry led by The Systems Sanctuary into how deep systemic change is understood, supported, and evaluated when impact is rooted in relational practice, inner development, cultural shift, and collective learning. Our research emerged from a core tension: systems change is still too often evaluated through scale, speed, replication, and tidy metrics—while the conditions that make transformation durable remain under-seen. Through 36 interviews across 10 countries with practitioners, evaluators, and funders, the inquiry surfaced a consistent pattern: Scaling Deep acts as both validation and shared language for practitioners already doing deeply relational work, and an invitation to evaluation to “measure what matters” without flattening complexity. The research also highlighted chronic misalignments—metrics-driven funding logics, extractive reporting, and insufficient attention to power—that limit our ability to conduct truly comprehensive evaluations. In this interactive, practice-based workshop, participants are introduced to the Scaling Deep framework and the inquiry’s key evaluation findings, with particular emphasis on shifting from metrics-based accountability toward learning-oriented, complexity-aware, and justice-rooted evaluation. Participants will leave with a draft comprehensive evaluation scaffold—practical questions, domains, sample indicators, and facilitation prompts—to apply immediately in their own work.
Speakers: Tatiana Fraser
Type: Half day workshop. Duration-in-minutes 180
Language: English
Presenters' Expertise: Tatiana Fraser is a systems change educator, and co-founder of The Systems Sanctuary, where trains leaders, funders, and evaluators in values-aligned systems practice. She led a global inquiry (Nov 2024–Apr 2025) into Scaling Deep practice, evaluation, and funding, conducting 36 interviews across 10 countries and convening a participant ground-truthing session to validate and deepen findings. Her work focuses on designing evaluation and learning infrastructures that can hold complexity, honor relational and cultural transformation, embed equity and power analysis, and support more comprehensive ways of understanding impact across human and natural systems. For over 2 decades, she has built and supported large-scale learning infrastructure, peer learning and evaluation platforms and advises organizations and funders on shifting from metrics-driven accountability toward collective learning approaches that better reflect real systems transformation.
Workshop level: Advanced
Prerequisite knowledge: -
Learning objectives: Participants will work with a practical “Scaling Deep evaluation scaffold” to translate the findings into comprehensive evaluation designs that:
1) capture intangible but consequential change (trust, belonging, agency, narrative shifts, cultural coherence);
2) Identify common evaluation “blind spots” revealed in the inquiry (e.g., power, relational impacts, cultural change, ecological conditions, extractive data practices).
3) Align with commitments to equity, inclusion, and ecological wellbeing;
4) Strengthen approaches to defining what matters, how knowledge is gathered, and how meaning is made.
5) Leave with practical tools (domains, prompts, sample indicators, methods options) to integrate relational, cultural, ecological, equity dimensions into evaluation work.
Teaching strategies : The workshop is designed as approximately 30% instruction and 70% application/active learning. Short teaching segments introduce the Scaling Deep framework and key research findings, supported by reflective prompts to ground the content in participants’ lived evaluation challenges. The majority of the session is hands-on: participants work in small groups using a Scaling Deep Evaluation Scaffold worksheet to apply the approach to real or sample evaluation contexts. Facilitation strategies include guided group exercises, case-based scenarios, peer discussion, collective sensemaking, and individual reflection, ensuring participants leave with practical, immediately applicable tools for comprehensive evaluation.