CECAN Fellowship: Shaping Best Practice: Systems Methodologies in Place-Based Evaluation
Place-Based Approaches (PBAs) are an increasingly popular public policy response to localised complexity in Australia and overseas. PBAs are touted as suitable responses to programs that span the recognised Nexus domains of focus to CECAN, but also wider topic areas. Indeed, in many ways PBAs are less about ‘the problems’ and more about the places and peoples they affect.
The challenge from an evaluation perspective is that the field has not kept pace with the growth and increase uptake of PBAs as a response to complexity. Guidance on the role that different systems methodologies can play in the evaluation of PBAs is limited. In the Australian context, many practitioners focus on learning-based approaches such as Developmental Evaluation, and/or a traditional mixed-methods approach that may incorporate specific systems techniques. For example, we occasionally see Social Network Analysis used to understand collaborations.
There is an opportunity for an uplift in systems methodological capability to undertake more impactful systems-driven evaluations of PBAs. Thus, the aims are twofold: to address the ‘guidance gap’ for systems methodologies for the evaluation of PBAs; and to contribute to discourse on best practices in the use of systems methodologies in the evaluation of PBAs.
About Matt
Matt Healey is an evaluation specialist and recognised practitioner at the intersection of systems thinking, complexity, and design. With almost 12 years of professional experience, Matt has consistently deepened his engagement with complex evaluation challenges, helping organisations navigate multifaceted social and environmental issues.
Matt integrates rigorous academic grounding with extensive practical know-how. As Principal Consultant and Co-Founder at First Person Consulting (FPC), he has led or substantially contributed to over 150 projects, leveraging systemic methodologies to unravel complexity and generate practical insights. Matt’s more unique area of practice in the Australian-context is the scale to which he brings systems methodologies into his evaluation practice.
Matt is deeply committed to building capability in systems methodologies. He has facilitated comprehensive training programs, such as supporting VicHealth’s transition towards systems-led practice which informed their new 10-year strategy, and guiding the Victorian emergency management sector in applying Social Network Analysis. Matt frequently presents and facilitates discussions at conferences, including the Australian Evaluation Society’s annual conference. He also delivers annual training to the evaluation sector Matt is also an advisor across multiple strategic initiatives.
