Complexity Theory and Evaluation in Public Management

Haynes, Philip

doi:10.1080/14719030802002766

Cited by 46 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Capra argued that these factors can be used to understand all systems, and his theory has been widely used. Examples include: Duryan, Nikolik, van Merode and Curfs () in the Netherlands studying organisational decision making and resource allocation; Wolf‐Branigin () examining USA community accommodation for people with disability; Livneh and Parker () studying psychological adaptation to chronic illness and disability; Haynes () examining the privatisation of social care services in the UK; and Baldry () studying the over‐representation of people with mental health disorders and intellectual disability in the criminal justice system.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australia's Individualised Disability Funding Packages: When Do They Provide Greater Choice and Opportunity?

Laragy

Fisher

Purcal

et al. 2015

Asian Soc Wrk & Pol Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Australia's new National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) uses individualised funding packages instead of traditional block-funded disability services to support people with disability. The NDIS works with the person and their family to assess the person's needs and develop a plan that determines their funding allocation. Funding can be used to purchase support from a disability service or from the open market. People can purchase support that suits their cultural and personal preferences. This paper examined whether individual funding packages met their aims in Western Australia, where they had been the primary mechanism of disability support for over 25 years. An exploratory case study was conducted consisting of face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 11 key participants: people with disability, senior government administrators, service provider managers, and a support worker. Complex systems theory was used to review the data and findings showed that individualised funding packages did not automatically result in more choice and greater opportunities. People needed information to make informed decisions; supportive and creative support from social workers and other professionals; and welcoming communities. The findings can inform policies and assist social workers facilitate maximum choice and opportunities for people with disability and their families.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australia's Individualised Disability Funding Packages: When Do They Provide Greater Choice and Opportunity?

Laragy

Fisher

Purcal

et al. 2015

Asian Soc Wrk & Pol Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There has been a long tradition in the applications of the VSM and SSM and there are many recent examples in a variety of fields (Assimakopoulos and Dimitriou 2006;Dodis and Panagiotakopoulos 2007;Espejo and Harnden 1989;Herrmann et al 2008;Ragab and Awad 2003;Yusof et al 2001). Finally, Complexity thinking has been applied to organisation structures and processes, specifically to design an organisation for a complex world (Haynes 2008;Lewin and Regine 1999;Mason 2007;Murray 1998;Schwaninger 2000).…”

Section: Organisations and Corporate Social Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the recent contribution of systems thinking to operational research and management science

Mingers

White

2010

European Journal of Operational Research

353

229

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The systems approach, or systems thinking, has been intimately connected with the development of OR and management science initially through the work of founders such as Churchman and Ackoff and latterly through innovations such as soft systems. In this paper we have undertaken a review of the contribution that systems thinking has been making more recently, especially to the practice of OR. Systems thinking is a discipline in its own right, with many theoretical and methodological developments, but it is also applicable to almost any problem area because of its generality, and so such a review must always be selective. We have looked at the literature from both a theoretical and an applications orientation. In the first part we consider the main systems theories and methodologies in terms of their recent developments and also their applications. This covers: the systems approach, complexity theory, cybernetics, system dynamics, soft OR and PSMs, critical systems and multimethodology. In the second part we review the main domains of application: strategy, information systems, organisations, production and operations, ecology and agriculture, and medicine and health. Our overall conclusion is that while systems may not be well established institutionally, in terms of academic departments, it is incredibly healthy in terms of the quantity and variety of its applications.

show abstract

“…Evaluation therefore needs to adjust to complexity by adaptation, focusing on ongoing processes of learning and adjustment to future challenges characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity (Staber and Sydow 2002). The ideal is therefore that evaluation should take a holistic approach with an emphasis on understanding policies and programmes, which also includes actors' ability to comprehend the context in which policy systems are embedded (Connick and Innes 2003;Haynes 2008;Sanderson 2000). This view of evaluation is also consistent with adaptive co-management theory (Berkes et al 2003) where performance refers to managers' ability to process ecological, social, and economic information.…”

Section: Perspectives On the Evaluation Of Collaborative Performancementioning

confidence: 85%

Does Adaptive Capacity Influence Service Delivery? Evidence from Swedish Emergency Management Collaborations

Nohrstedt

2013

Public Management Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relationship between adaptive capacity and collaborative performance is a central issue within public management research but has rarely been subjected to systematic empirical testing. Using survey data on emergency preparedness collaborations in Swedish municipalities (N = 263), this article investigates the relationship between three adaptive capacity variables -diversity, interaction, and learning -and outcomes in terms of goal attainment, risk analysis, and public satisfaction with rescue services. The findings suggest a positive relationship between the number of collaboration partners and goal attainment, while learning and accessibility of collaboration venues were unassociated with service delivery variables.

show abstract

Complexity Theory and Evaluation in Public Management

Cited by 46 publications

References 9 publications

Australia's Individualised Disability Funding Packages: When Do They Provide Greater Choice and Opportunity?

Australia's Individualised Disability Funding Packages: When Do They Provide Greater Choice and Opportunity?

A review of the recent contribution of systems thinking to operational research and management science

Does Adaptive Capacity Influence Service Delivery? Evidence from Swedish Emergency Management Collaborations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About