Abstract
What is transformational change? Can we define it? Can we measure it? Will we know a transformational change when it occurs? In the book Soonish (Weinersmith and Weinersmith 2017), the authors discuss transformational technologies: Ideas such as asteroid mining and cable cars that run up into space require technologies whose times have not yet come, but represent important ways in which the world’s existing woes—including the problem of resource constraints—may be solved. Most multilateral development agencies aim for change that is ‘transformational’ or that ‘shifts the paradigm’. Arguably, transformational change has become the holy grail in development assistance. Most development and environmental aid agencies aspire to support transformational change, referring in turn, at least in spirit if not in letter, to something that will change the way our work is done or the way we think about the impact of our work (Levine and Savedoff 2015). Despite this, definitions of what constitutes transformational change remain elusive, resulting in the near absence of evidence related to transformational change. In this chapter we discuss some experiences of organisations that have aimed to define and measure transformational change. We then discuss whether or not these definitions are necessary and sufficient, and explore potential ways in which measurement may occur.
This paper was first published as a Working Paper as part of the series published by the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) of the Green Climate Fund.
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Notes
- 1.
See the Governing Instrument document of the Green Climate Fund.
- 2.
Devolution refers to the fact that measurement capacities need to exist not just in centres or HQs but also at the field level.
- 3.
This is not a comprehensive summary of their conclusions. We urge the reader to refer to the original document (IFAD 2016b).
- 4.
IFAD9 IAI committed IFAD to producing and reporting on 30 impact assessments, all of which would use either ex ante methods or ex post methods (one-fifth needed to use ex ante impact evaluation methods), while moving to ‘succinct accounts (of results reporting) that are focused on impacts and outcomes achieved’.
- 5.
GC 35/L.4 commits IFAD to “Raising the level of compliance with the requirement for projects to have a baseline survey by the end of their first year of implementation” (IFAD 2012, p. viii).
- 6.
The GEF IEO called it a ‘meta-evaluation’, although it wasn’t a meta-evaluation in the strict sense of the word. For example, see Borenstein et al. (2009) for definitions.
- 7.
- 8.
The introduction of evidence-based medicine, or just more operationally, handwashing or a change in doctors’ practices with respect to how they treat malaria or tuberculosis, the use of vaccines, the use of checklists (see, for example, Gawande 2009).
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Puri, J. (2019). Transformational Change: The Challenge of a Brave New World. In: Schmidt, M., Giovannucci, D., Palekhov, D., Hansmann, B. (eds) Sustainable Global Value Chains. Natural Resource Management in Transition, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14877-9_17
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