Evaluating complex change requires more than just counting outputs. It requires a way to bridge the gap: between the rigor required for reporting, and the reality of working in non-linear systems.
This tension is most acute in fields like gender, justice, and human rights, where the goal is not just service delivery, but shifting deep-seated power dynamics and structural inequities.
The good news? It is possible to satisfy the need for accountability while simultaneously empowering the people and ecosystems we serve. Yet, we often lack the tools to bridge this gap. We struggle to capture the “invisible” value of trust, connection, shifts in power, and agency, or to make credible claims about our contribution to systemic change without oversimplifying the story.
In this 90-minute launch session, we will introduce an integrated methodology designed to bridge this gap.
More specifically, we will explore how to weave together three distinct innovations to track the vitality of a system in real-time:
The Paradigm: Shifting to Regenerative Evaluation – moving from extractive measurement to a practice that builds capacity, centers equity and generates energy.
The Framework: Using the Impact Garden – a visual Theory of Change that maps the “soil” (resources) and “garden bed” (Interventions & Activities) alongside the “fruit” (outcomes).
The Analytic: Using Feedback Loops as leading indicators – tracking the dynamic flow of trust and learning to assess system health before final results are visible.
The following visual presents our Impact Garden Framework with the focus on systemic Feedback Loops:
What we will explore together:
An introduction to Regenerative Evaluation & the Impact Garden:
The Methodology: A deep dive into how these elements combine to build credible claims and narratives in complexity.
Real-World Application: Insights from case studies, seeing how we applied this thinking with partners like the Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany (SEND e.V.) to measure ecosystem impact in a Google.org funded project.
The Resources: All participants will receive our full Methodology Briefs, specifically tailored to address the unique challenges of Multilaterals, Foundations, and Impact Networks.
Who is this for? This session is designed for M&E practitioners, program managers, funders, and network leaders who are looking for rigorous yet relational ways to measure systemic change.
Recommended Reading: As well as signing up, you can read our latest article on “M&E in Complexity: Presenting a methodology for making credible claims” to get a first glimpse of the concepts we will dive into.
We look forward to welcoming you!
Jannik and the Unity Effect team
Please note: The workshop times are in Central European Time (UTC +1). Our workshops are designed to be a space for exchange. We will not record, but you will receive our slides afterwards. We will exclude any AI tools for meeting notes (Otters, Fireflies, …) to enable open dialogue.
