Change-making Story Maps: Feasible Tools and Tips to Systematically Map, Learn & Story tell HOW Change-Making Happens in Complex Systems

Abstract

The is demand for more traceable stories of impact of social and systems change initiatives. We cannot afford not to learn and tell the tales. But models to capture complex change-making & learning acquired along the way are often perceived as burdensome (neither practical, nor feasible). This note presents tools and tricks to systematically weave tacit and formal knowledge in ways that are affordable, timely useful and gratifying, by using emergent and process tracing-interviews and visual maps. Together the tools can help tell explanatory and compelling change-making stories, support collective sense-making and learning, among other tasks associated to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for complex change.

Keywords: monitoring evaluation learning visualizations emergence change-making storytelling