Systems change and transformation ideas are everywhere right now. Many people feel that the challenges we face require big, generational shifts. Terms like “systems transformation,” “transformative change,” and “deep change” have become increasingly popular.
In a 2020 workshop on evaluating transformative change, Michael Quinn Patton noted that if changemakers want to evaluate transformation efforts effectively, they must be clear about two things: their theory of transformation—how they believe systems actually transform—and their transformation-oriented strategy—how their work will contribute to that kind of change.
These ideas are similar to, but yet distinct from, mainstream theories of change and systems-change strategies, which often focus on improving system performance rather than reshaping system dynamics. A transformation lens asks a different question: What would it take for the system itself to evolve into something meaningfully different?
This series introduces a few foundational ideas about transformation, theories of transformation, and transformation-oriented strategies. It also highlights a curated selection of social innovation and social change frameworks that change-makers may find especially useful for discussion, planning, management, and evaluation of transformation-oriented efforts. This is not an exhaustive list. Instead, it offers a starting set of tools that practitioners should understand and have in their back pocket when working on initiatives aimed at deep, long-term system evolution.
Click the dropdown to learn more and download each guide in the series.