Check out the Center for Evaluation Innovation - click here.
Click here to check out Innovation Network.
Click here for a link to the report called Speaking for Themselves: Advocates' Perspectives on Evaluation.
Click here for the State of Evaluation 2010 Evaluation Practice and Capacity in the Nonprofit Sector
Click here for the Executive Summary of Evaluating Systems Initiatives by Julia Coffman
Click here for the full version of Evaluating Systems Initiatives by Julia Coffman
Click here for access to resources on Evaluating Community Organizing
click here for Evaluating Policy Change and Advocacy: The Funder's Perspective
Click here for the latest NCRP publication in their series on return on investment called Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing, and Civic Engagement in the Northwest Region
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Friday, November 19, 2010
Great Resources on Evaluating Advocacy and Other Hard To Measure Things
Four Teams funded by the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona
We have been working with the Community Foundation to design and facilitate a process in which individuals from different organizations formed teams to work toward shared system change goals.
Click here to see the four teams supported by the Community Foundation of Southern Arizon.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
January 25 Training in Colorado on Using World Cafe and Open Space Technology
If you are interested in learning how to facilitate high engagement meetings and are interested in attending a training on using World Cafe and Open Space Technology click
here for more information on our January 25 Training in Colorado.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Nov 16 in Phoenix -- Capacity Building in the Social Sector
Join us in Phoenix on November 16 for an interactive discussion at an event called Capacity Building in the Social Sector. Hosted by the St. Luke's Health Initiatives and the Health in a New Key Consultant's Community of Practice. Supported by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the Arizona Community Foundation. Contact Cassandra O'Neill at cassandraoneill@comcast.net for more information.
There will be an interdisciplinary conversation (that includes funders, young nonprofit professionals, consultants and practitioners) on capacity building in the social sector. Participants will:
*Learn about the latest research on learning organizations, brain research, high impact agencies, and cutting edge capacity building
*Think across the sector
*Have Small group discussions designed to promote new learning and collective intelligence and group reflection
*Experience high engagement methods of facilitation, such as, a gallery walk, idea writing, and cognitive coaching.
*Take away tools you can use to adopt new practices and continual learning.
*Learn more about one another and create collective wisdom.
The cost of the day is $30 and includes lunch.
Registration links are below:
For Funders and Capacity Builders click here
For Members of Phoenix Young Non Profit Profesionals Network click here
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Monday, October 4, 2010
November 30 Training on Facilitating Whole System Methods in Tucson
Join us for a workshop in Facilitating Whole System Methods:
The World Café and Open Space Technology
When? November 30, 2010, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Where? Room 103 Keating BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona
This workshop is designed for public health professionals, community or coalition leaders,program coordinators, community liaisons, outreach coordinators, advocates, board members,consultants,students and anyone interested in learning about creating meaningful dialogue and engagement with diverse groups by using whole system methods.
Topics Covered:
• The common principles of Whole System Methods
• How Whole System Methods align with recent research on how the brain
works
• The benefits of using Whole System Methods such as The World Café and
Open Space Technology
• Using Whole System Methods to build engagement, collaboration and meaningful
dialogue
• Crafting invitational and appreciative questions
Faculty: Sarah Griffiths and Cassandra O’Neill, Wholonomy Consulting llc:
Sarah and Cassandra have facilitated using these methods and conducted trainings with a wide variety of organizations, including United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, First Things First, Maricopa Association of Governments, St Luke’s Health Initiatives, and staff from several Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) funded programs.
What previous training participants have told us:
o “I feel newly inspired around positive meeting processes! I have the tools for better planning that will lead to broader and creative thinking (and the scientific links to the why!)”
o “Participating in the Open Space Process was a highlight for me, and seeing the beauty of a flexible process within a structured process.”
Are you working to build community engagement, dialogue or collaboration?
Are you interested in learning new tools for engaging community members and partners in community health initiatives?
Are you interested in learning new ways to encourage meaningful participation within your organization?
Co‐sponsored by the Mel and Edith Zuckerman College of Public Health
Registration Form
Name __________________________________________________________________________
Organization ___________________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ___________________________________________________________________
Phone _____________________ Email _________________________________________
Any special dietary requests? ______________________________________________________
WHEN: Tuesday November 30, 2010 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm—Registration at 8:30
WHERE: The training will be held in Room 103 in the Thomas Keating Building
BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona:
1657 East Helen Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721‐0240
For Directions and Parking please visit:
http://www.bio5.arizona.edu/about‐bio5/directions_8964
TUITION: $129*—Early Bird Registration by November 5, 2010.
$149*—For all registration after November 5.
$50*—Student rate
*The cost of registration includes lunch.
Please make check payable to and send with registration form to:
Wholonomy Consulting LLC
PO Box 42035
Tucson, AZ 85733
Registrations may be faxed to: (520) 844‐3251
There are a limited number of scholarships available.
Questions please contact:
Sarah Griffiths (520) 271‐7970 slmgriffiths@hotmail.com or
Jennie Mullins (520) 626‐0189 mullinsj@email.arizona.edu
More about Whole System Methods:
Open Space Technology—This method is an alternative to traditional meeting and conference
formats. It encourages creativity, generates enthusiasm, and produces extraordinary results. For
more information go to: www.openspaceworld.org
World Café—This method is based upon the discovery that by combining a welcoming space with
questions that matter we promote authentic conversations that propel organizations forward. For
more information about the World Café go to: www.theworldcafe.com
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Friday, August 27, 2010
September 9 2010 in Tucson -- Stone Soup Listening Tour Stop
Join us in Tucson for the Stone Soup Listening Tour on September 9, 2010 from 5:30 – 8:00 pm at
La Cocina at Old Town Artisan
201 North Court Tucson, AZ 85701
(near the Tucson Museum of Art downtown)
La Cocina will have drinks and a light food item available for purchase, for those who are interested.
This evening will be a chance to learn about what is happening both in and outside of Tucson, and a chance to share about what we could all do together if we increased collaboration.
If you have questions about this event contact Cassandra O’Neill at cassandraoneill@comcast.net or Dan Jones at danjones3@cox.net
More information on the Stone Soup Listening Tour is below.
Stone Soup Listening Tour September 7-23
Help connect the green dots…
In the 1990’s, author Paul Ray’s research on changing values and lifestyles concluded that in the U.S. alone, there are over 50 million “Cultural Creatives”—adults participating in the social and consciousness movements, which have emerged since World War II. Cultural Creatives care about the planet, relationships and steward leadership, supporting a more organic, systemic view of how we live together.
More recently, in Blessed Unrest, author Paul Hawken’s writes that there are more than two million organizations making a meaningful difference around green and social justice issues.
So why aren’t we hearing about, collecting and connecting all the green and sustainable stories being told by the 50 million Cultural Creatives, who are undoubtedly involved in some of the two million organizations? Are their stories hanging “out there” somewhere like “dangling participles” disconnected and unable to effectively transform, modify or enhance the momentum of the grassroots movement already taking place?
The Stone Soup Listening Tour: Connecting people, places and projects
What “green stories” are happening everywhere? Who’s telling them?
Linda Sechrist, a writer and editor for Natural Awakenings Magazine (www.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com) and co-founder of Upstate Green Central Station, and Sharon Joy Kleitsch, founder of The Connection Partners, want to hear the latest in the emerging green story.
On their Stone Soup Listening Tour in 11 cities across the southern U.S., Sechrist and Kleitsch plan to meet hundreds of innovative folks, listen to stories about their projects and learn what they’re doing to create sustainable communities intended to ensure a future for all. Adding sustenance to make a healthy and savory “stone soup,” the women will collect the bounty of conversations and stories from each community as they travel along and contribute them to the next “pot.” The much anticipated result: a truly savory and soulfully good soup story that sustains all.
The prologue to the Stone Soup Listening Tour began when Sechrist’s brother in California gifted her with a car. A resident of Spartanburg South Carolina, she decided to fly to California and drive back, stopping to visit with 11 of the 82 Natural Awakenings publishers as she traveled east. Upon sharing plans with her friend on July 4, the spark ignited in Kleitsch a knowing that she was supposed to join her.
The tour begins in San Diego on September 7th and moves on to Tucson, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga, ending in Greenville/Spartanburg.
While education is essential, the ways we listen together to discover paths to wise actions are critical. Partnering with the World Café, Open Space and Art of Hosting networks, Kleitsch and Sechrist anticipate co-hosting evening, weekend or afternoon gatherings in each city. While daytime hours include visiting with individuals, organizations, and regional leaders to hear about what is working in their communities, evenings are set aside for stories and conversations that matter. This gives everyone an opportunity to hear about community happenings around slow food, slow money, permaculture, Transition Towns, Awakening the Dreamer, Four Years Go, 10.10. 10, Circle Connections, Social Artistry, Bioneers, transportation, clean energy, green building, sustainable cities, and everything it takes to build and strengthen sustainable communities.
Through their various networks the women are connecting with regional non-profit, business, government and media leaders to support what they and others are already doing in the tour cities. “This adds to an even more satisfying Stone Soup of true sustenance,” says Sechrist. “Many are already hosting conversations to address current issues, offering experiences to recognize the value of listening for what we don’t know. We’re just connecting a few more green dots, stirring the Stone Soup pot and will watch what happens,” adds Kleitsch.
Ray points out, “All the technical and social innovations needed to solve our problems have already been developed and are staring us in the face. Cultural Creatives, who are over 30% of U.S. adults, represent a new emerging consciousness that if made aware and mobilized, could provide critical mass of influence and pressure in the economic, cultural and political domains to shift the balance.”
From Separation to Collaboration
“When Cultural Creatives finally connect and delight in what they share in common, amazing things are going to occur,” say Kleitsch and Sechrist. Among others who are sensing the growing need to connect and move from separate projects to collaboration, Sechrist and Kleitsch are excited about answering the call with their Stone Soup Listening Tour, intended to help others connect, align, synergize and leverage what is showing up faster by paying attention.
Join us for a chance to share what you are noticing, to connect and to be pleasantly surprised. Be part of the Stone Soup Listening Tour. Contact Sharon Joy Kleitsch, The Connection Partners, with ideas, contacts and venue possibilities in any of the 11 cities.
To explore how independent media can support and magnify the new emerging story, video interviews will be posted on Facebook, blog.naturalawakeningsmag.com and Creative Loafing’s Green Communities sites http://tampa.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/green as well as YouTube and UpstateGreenDirectory.com.
The tour begins in San Diego on September 7th and moves on to Tucson (9/9), Phoenix (9/10), Albuquerque (9/12), Santa Fe (9/13-14), Oklahoma City (9/16-17), Tulsa (9/18), Little Rock (9/20), Memphis (9/21), Nashville (9/22) and Chattanooga (9/23, ending in Greenville/Spartanburg (9/23).
Sharon Joy Kleitsch, kleitsch@verizon.net. Linda Sechrist, lysechrist@aol.com .
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
This is a fantastic blog post about how old paradigms kill off innovation and success
Click here for a fantastic blog post by Steve Denning called Why Great Knowledge Management Programs Fail.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Friday, July 16, 2010
Engagement Governance
Click here for an article about Engagement Governance for System-Wide Decision Making
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Vital Voices Lessons Learned from Board Members of Color
This report from BoardSource has some important information about Culturally Competency and Governance.
Click here to download this report.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A Cocoon Movement for the Nonprofit Sector: Can We “Brimley” Longer Serving Nonprofits (June 25, 2010) | Opinion Blog | Stanford Social Innovation Review
Thursday, June 17, 2010
June 17 2010 event on Norms of Collaboration
I'm going to be presenting at the YNPN Pheonix event tonight June 17, 2010 from 6-8 pm.
Info on this event is available by clicking here.
I'll be using this information, and offering a way for people to collaborate.
7 Norms of Collaboration
Pausing to allow time for thought
• Pause after asking questions.
• Pause after others speak to reflect before responding.
• Pause before asking questions to allow time for artful construction.
Paraphrasing within a pattern of pause - paraphrase - question to ensure deep listening
• Listen and paraphrase to acknowledge and clarify.
• Listen and paraphrase to summarize and organize.
• Listen and paraphrase to shift levels of abstraction.
Putting inquiry at the center to reveal and extend thinking
• Inquire to explore perceptions, assumptions and interpretations.
• Invite others to inquire into our perceptions, assumptions and interpretations.
• Inquire before we advocate.
Probing to clarify
• Seek understanding of the meaning of words.
• Seek understanding of data, explanations, ideas, anecdotes and generalizations.
• Seek understanding of assumptions, perceptions and interpretations.
Placing ideas on the table and pulling them off / placing data and perceptions before the group
• State the intentions of our communications.
• Provide relevant facts, ideas, opinions and inferences.
• Remove or announce modification of ideas, opinions and points of view.
Paying attention to self and others to monitor our ways of working
• Balance participation and open opportunities for each other to contribute and respond.
• Restrain our impulses to react, respond or rebut at inappropriate times or in ineffective ways.
• Maintain awareness of the group’s task, processes and development.
Presuming positive intentions to support a non-judgmental atmosphere
• Communicate respectfully whether we agree or disagree.
• Embed positive presuppositions in our paraphrases, summaries and comments.
• Embed positive presuppositions when we inquire or probe for specificity
For more information on the 7 norms of collaboration go to www.adaptiveschools.com
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Adventures in Sustainable Leadership
This fabulous opportunity is available at no cost to anyone who wants to join in the fun who happens to be in Tucson.
Check it out by clicking here.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Daring Strategy to Unleash Organizational Success
Check this out! Employees First, Customers Second.
Click
here to learn more.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
The Call - by Oriah
I've been re-reading The Call: Discovering Why You are Here by Oriah. Here is an excerpt from the chapter called Being Here - pg. 70.
This is what I learned on my quest: There is simply no place, no location or situation, that cannot be used to wake up to and live all of what and who you are, if you are willing to show up, to be present in the only place you ever have access to: here.
Because what you long for, the awareness of the vast and sacred spaciousness at the center of what you are and the meaning it holds, is always here. Some situations or places will be more in alignment with your preferences. This may make it more pleasurable for you to be there, which may make it harder or easier for you to go to sleep to what and who you are and why you are here. But if our deepest soul's longing is to wake up and fully occupy the human life we have, and if we can do this anywhere we are willing to be fully present, what then is this incredible attachment to and preoccupation with getting the details of our life situation to conform to what we want, to what we think is necessary or ideal for the satisfaction of this deepest longing?
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Monday, May 17, 2010
Webinar - Appreciative Inquiry: Transforming the Sector One Question At A Time
I'm doing a webinar on May 25. Click here to link to description and registration.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Monday, April 12, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Posters on Context as a focus of System Change
Groups discussed Context as a focus of System Change and these posters reflect their discussions.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Posters on Scale as a focus of System Change
Small groups discussed scale as a focus for system change and made these posters to reflect their discussion.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Posters on Components as a Focus for System Change
Groups discussed Components as a focus for System Change at the March 23 CFSA meeting and made posters to capture their discussion.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Posters on Infrastructure from CFSA March 23 meeting
Groups discussed Infrastructure as a focus for System Change at the March 23 CFSA meetings and made posters to capture the highlights of their discussion.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Posters on Connections from March 23 CFSA meeting
Groups discussed Connections during the March 23 CFSA meeting and made posters to capture the highlights of their discussions.
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Monday, March 15, 2010
CFSA Community Collaboration meeting on March 23
On January 28th, CFSA took an historic step in our quest to refine our community investment model through strength-based community collaboration. Forty people, representing the twenty organizations that had received grants in 2009, fund holders and CFSA board members, spent four hours exploring the assets they bring to the community and ideas for the future.
Now we are expanding the process to include many more members of the community. We invite you to join us as we continue to identify critical issues in the community and the people who want to come together to address them.
On March 23rd we will hold a second meeting. We will build on the ideas already identified and add new ones that the expanded group will bring to the discussion. We will describe the process by which organizations can move forward with their ideas by applying for a planning grant in May. Funding for the collaborative work, identified through the planning grants, will be awarded in September. For more information on our process, please go to https://www.cfsoaz.org/cfsa/ForNonprofits/Grants/tabid/98/Default.aspx and click on https://iphi.stellarfinancial.com/cfsa/Portals/23/docs/CIG%20Fact%20Sheet%202010.pdf.
Please join us on March 23rd and you will have the opportunity to learn about today’s critical nonprofit issues, especially what is working in these challenging times, and new ways to think about providing quality services to the community through collaborations and partnerships.
We often hear from our fund holders and community philanthropists that there are too many nonprofits and there is too much duplication of effort. Whether or not that is true, collaborations and partnerships are critical to efficient and effective service provision.
Join us in addressing this issue.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
1:00 – 5:00 pm
The Hotel Arizona
East and Central Ballroom
181 West Broadway Boulevard
Tucson, AZ 85701
RSVP to emendelson@cfsoaz.org
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
Friday, March 12, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cultural Competency and Evaluation
I just read a fantastic report called The Importance of Culture in Evaluation A Practical Guide for Evaluators.
It is available on line at:
http://communityscience.com/pdfs/CrossCulturalGuide.r3.pdf
There is also a follow up publication called The Journey Continues: Ensuring a Cross-Culturally Competent Evaluation.
This is available at:
http://www.coloradotrust.org/attachments/0001/0089/EnsureCrossCulturalCompetent-Evaluation.indd.pdf
http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com
