%0 Journal Article
%T Using a Complex Adaptive Systems Perspective to Illuminate the Concept of Evaluation Capacity Building in a Network
%A Amy Grack Nelson
%A Anne Sinkey
%A Christine Reich
%A Christopher L. B. Cardiel
%A Elizabeth Kunz Kollmann
%A Frances Lawrenz
%A Gayra Ostgaard
%A Jean A. King
%A Juli Goss
%A Lauren Causey
%A Marjorie Bequette
%A Marta Beyer
%A Melanie Francisco
%A Molly Illes
%A Sarah Cohn
%A Scott Pattison
%A Stephanie Iacovelli
%J American Journal of Evaluation
%@ 1557-0878
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1098214018773877
%X While evaluation capacity building (ECB) may hold promise for fostering evaluation, little is known about how it is operationalized within a network. This article presents initial findings from a National Science Foundation¨Cfunded research project (Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations) that used concepts from complex adaptive systems theory to develop case studies of ECB within the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network. The project used a multiple case study approach to explore ECB within four Network workgroups. Cross-case themes documented characteristics of the system and ECB within it. Evaluation capacity was evident in several ways, including people's comfort with evaluation, evaluation-related skills, evaluation processes used, and the value placed on evaluation. Ultimately, the study identified several complex adaptive system features that fostered Network ECB: massive entanglement and neighbor interactions, information flow/feedback loops, stability and flexibility/adaptability, redundancy and diversity of evaluative skills and knowledge, and both centralized and distributed control
%K capacity building
%K case studies
%K systems
%K complex adaptive systems
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098214018773877