Thomas AstonMaking sense of all the sense makingI don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there seems to have been a boom in sensemaking.9 min read·Mar 17, 2024--5--5
Thomas AstonHigher, broader, and deeper level resultsI’ve written in the past on the difference between outputs and outcomes, but I’ve rarely reflected on the issues of breadth or depth of…6 min read·Feb 19, 2024----
Thomas AstonSins of commission: The five most common mistakes when hiring an evaluator… and how to avoid themWritten with Matthew Carr and Johanna Morariu6 min read·Jan 7, 2024----
Thomas AstonEmbracing fuzziness in assessing complex change processesSuccess, failure, or both?9 min read·Nov 4, 2023--1--1
Thomas AstonChanging theoriesYou may, or may not, be surprised to hear that many theories of change lack what we might generally understand as a theory.8 min read·Oct 15, 2023--2--2
Thomas AstonThe end of impactToby Lowe recently argued that ‘it is impossible for organisations to “demonstrate their impact” if they work in complex environments.’12 min read·Jul 30, 2023--2--2
Thomas AstonComplexity and theories of change: reduxI’ve been reading lots of critiques of planning, prediction, and theories of change recently. I’ve written a fair bit on theories of change…11 min read·Jul 17, 2023--3--3
Thomas AstonWhat is an intervention anyway?I was recently discussing with Mario Picon and Kathy Bain about future work at Results for Development, and we got to talking about where…10 min read·Jul 5, 2023----
Thomas AstonEvidence portals to another world?The promise of a Development Evidence Portal10 min read·May 29, 2023----
Thomas AstonRandomista maniaSeveral years ago, when Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer won the Nobel Prize for economics I wrote a blog arguing that we…12 min read·Feb 25, 2023----
