Papers by Adam P Hejnowicz
Twelve principles for transformation-focused evaluation
Reimagining the language of engagement in a post-stakeholder world
Sustainability science, Apr 29, 2024
Language matters in shaping perceptions and guiding behaviour. The term stakeholder is widely use... more Language matters in shaping perceptions and guiding behaviour. The term stakeholder is widely used, yet little attention is paid to the possibility that its use may inadvertently perpetuate colonial narratives and reinforce systemic inequities. In this article, we critically examine the limitations of the stakeholder concept and its ambiguity, normativity, and exclusionary implications. We emphasise the importance of using language that gives a voice to marginalised groups, promotes inclusion and equity, and fosters meaningful and reflexive participation in decision-making processes. In critiquing the use of the term and calling for alternative practices, we aim to contribute to the decolonisation of research norms and the creation of more inclusive and equitable societies. Therefore, rather than advocating a single alternative term, we suggest a focus on the people, places, and species affected by decisions, interventions, projects, and issues.
Foundational guiding principles for a flourishing Earth system
Business and society review, Apr 11, 2024
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-ppa-10.1177_0952076720921444 for Designing public agencies for 21... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-ppa-10.1177_0952076720921444 for Designing public agencies for 21st century water–energy–food nexus complexity: The case of Natural Resources Wales by Nick A Kirsop-Taylor and Adam P Hejnowicz in Public Policy and Administration
Research Square (Research Square), Mar 27, 2024
Transformation of economic systems is widely regarded as an essential strategy to tackle interact... more Transformation of economic systems is widely regarded as an essential strategy to tackle interacting global crises. In response, there are diverse transformative approaches seeking holistic human and planetary wellbeing. However, mainstreaming these 'new' economic approaches is hampered by vested interests and intellectual lock-in. They are also diffuse and struggling to develop sufficient discursive power to gain more widespread traction in policy. To bring coherence, we undertake a qualitative content analysis of diverse transformative new economic document sources from science and practice, synthesizing ten ecological, social, political economy and holistic principles cutting across 38 approaches. They include: (1) social-ecological embeddedness and holistic wellbeing; (2) interdisciplinarity and complexity thinking; (3) limits to growth; (4) limited substitutability of natural capital; (5) regenerative design; (6) holistic perspectives of people and values; (7) equity, equality, and justice; (8) relationality and social enfranchisement; (9) participation, deliberation, and cooperation; and (10) post-capitalism and decolonization. We also consider opportunities and barriers for applying these principles in the context of global crises. Future efforts can further consolidate transformative new economics through building discourse coalitions between approaches, synthesizing methodologies and conceptual models, and validating principles more explicitly within Global South contexts.
Why nature matters: A systematic review of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values
BioScience, Dec 25, 2023
In this article, we present results from a literature review of intrinsic, instrumental, and rela... more In this article, we present results from a literature review of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values of nature conducted for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as part of the Methodological Assessment of the Diverse Values and Valuations of Nature. We identify the most frequently recurring meanings in the heterogeneous use of different value types and their association with worldviews and other key concepts. From frequent uses, we determine a core meaning for each value type, which is sufficiently inclusive to serve as an umbrella over different understandings in the literature and specific enough to help highlight its difference from the other types of values. Finally, we discuss convergences, overlapping areas, and fuzzy boundaries between different value types to facilitate dialogue, reduce misunderstandings, and improve the methods for valuation of nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem services, to inform policy and direct future research.
Regional Environmental Change
The scale of climate migration across the Global South is expected to increase during this centur... more The scale of climate migration across the Global South is expected to increase during this century. By 2050, millions of Africans are likely to consider, or be pushed into, migration because of climate hazards contributing to agricultural disruption, water and food scarcity, desertification, flooding, drought, coastal erosion, and heat waves. However, the migration-climate nexus is complex, as is the question of whether migration can be considered a climate change adaptation strategy across both the rural and urban space. Combining data from household surveys, key informant interviews, and secondary sources related to regional disaster, demographic, resource, and economic trends between 1990 and 2020 from north central and central dryland Namibia, we investigate (i) human migration flows and the influence of climate hazards on these flows and (ii) the benefits and dis-benefits of migration in supporting climate change adaptation, from the perspective of migrants (personal factors an...
Earth's Future
The water‐energy‐food (WEF) nexus is a prominent approach for addressing today's sustainable ... more The water‐energy‐food (WEF) nexus is a prominent approach for addressing today's sustainable development challenges. In our critical appraisal of the WEF, covering different approaches, drivers, enablers, and applications, we emphasize the situation across the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean). Here, WEF research covers at least 23 focal domains. We find that the nexus is still a maturing paradigm primarily rooted in a physical and natural sciences framing, which is itself embedded in a neoliberal securities narrative. While providing insights and tools to address the systemic interdependencies between resource sectors whose exploitation, degradation, and sub‐optimal management contribute to (un)sustainable development, there is still insufficient engagement with social, political, and economic dimensions. Progress related to climate, urbanization, and resource consumption is encouraging, but while governance and finance are central enablers of current...
ICLEI Africa, Feb 1, 2021
Developing a bespoke Theory of Change: drawing on complexity science to strengthen the application of the public value framework in the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Apr 25, 2023
This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of s... more This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce the concepts of ‘lenses’ and ‘tensions’ to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on value and valuation along diverse dimensions that describe what values focus on, how their sociality is envisioned, and what epistemic and procedural assumptions are made. We characterise fourteen of such dimensions. This provides a foundation for exploration of seven areas of tension, between: 1) the values of individuals vs collectives; 2) values as discrete and held vs embedded and constructed; 3) value as static or changeable; 4) valuation as positive or normative and transformative; 5) social vs relational values; 6) different rationalities and their relation to value integration; 7) degrees of acknowl...
Ambio
Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs) help mitigate and adapt to climate change but their integration int... more Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs) help mitigate and adapt to climate change but their integration into policy, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), remains underdeveloped. Most BCE conservation requires community engagement, hence community-scale projects must be nested within the implementation of NDCs without compromising livelihoods or social justice. Thirty-three experts, drawn from academia, project development and policy, each developed ten key questions for consideration on how to achieve this. These questions were distilled into ten themes, ranked in order of importance, giving three broad categories of people, policy & finance, and science & technology. Critical considerations for success include the need for genuine participation by communities, inclusive project governance, integration of local work into national policies and practices, sustaining livelihoods and income (for example through the voluntary carbon market and/or national Payment for Ecosystem Servi...
Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, Feb 1, 2022
In this article we set ourselves three challenges: fi rst, to examine the potential of the data r... more In this article we set ourselves three challenges: fi rst, to examine the potential of the data revolution to aid the transformational change required to achieve sustainable development goals second, and the ability of evaluation to contribute to greater engagement with data science technologies; and third, the capacity of data science to further evaluation as an innovative and progressive fi eld of inquiry. We also discuss the political, economic, cultural, and ethical challenges that data science presents to sustainable development and evaluation. We conclude that data science and evaluation can enhance each other to address the key development challenges of our time.
Social Innovations Journal, Mar 4, 2021
The call for transformation is a response to the dire global emergency; it is a call for radical ... more The call for transformation is a response to the dire global emergency; it is a call for radical innovation at multiple levels if humanity is to survive into the next Century. How can evaluation, a profession in the business of assessment and advising, inform and hasten transformation? As a field that straddles both theory and practice, evaluation is uniquely positioned to support transformational learning and change, but this potential depends on its ability to transform from within. This article identifies four interrelated "boxes" that confine evaluation's transformational potential: a project fixation, a shortterm temporal fixation, a quantitative fixation, and an accountability fixation. It also examines the uptake and influence of complex systems analysis in the field of evaluation as a means to "breakout" of these boxes and nudge evaluation towards the inner transformation required for it to contribute to transformational change.
Valuing beyond economics: A pluralistic evaluation framework for participatory policymaking
Ecological Economics, 2022
ICLEI Africa, Feb 1, 2021
Evaluation as Pathway to Transformation for a Sustainable Future
The workshop responded to the growing focus on transformation in the UN 2030 Global Agenda, and t... more The workshop responded to the growing focus on transformation in the UN 2030 Global Agenda, and the need to urgently address today's globally interconnected social and environmental challenges. It framed transformation as call for radical and rapid innovation, and a shift away from business-as-usual approaches across multiple scales and sectors to safeguard our planet and ensure related human prosperity in the years ahead. Crucially, as a field that straddles both theory and practice, evaluation is uniquely positioned to support transformational learning and change. Indeed, the growing focus on transformation within evaluation is reflective of this wider narrative as well as the increasing uptake and influence of complex systems analysis.
CECAN Evaluation and Policy Practice Note (EPPN) for policy analysts and evaluators - Evaluating complex policy for rural development at a time of dynamic change
From 2016 to 2018 Defra worked with the CECAN Case Study Team, led by Newcastle and York Universi... more From 2016 to 2018 Defra worked with the CECAN Case Study Team, led by Newcastle and York Universities, to help inform and improve their approach to evaluating rural development policy in England. The complexity of the policy presented particular challenges for evaluation. The case study aimed to help Defra meet these challenges through the testing and development of evaluation models and building capacity to incorporate complexity thinking throughout the policy cycle.
Evaluation as a Pathway to Transformation Lessons from Sustainable Development
The Palgrave Handbook of Learning for Transformation, 2022
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Papers by Adam P Hejnowicz