Blue Marble Evaluation Premises and Principles

As a transdisciplinary profession, evaluation has much to offer to global change interventions that work toward a sustainable future across national boundaries, sectors, and issues. This book introduces Blue Marble evaluation, which provides a framework for developing, adapting, and evaluating major systems change initiatives involving complex networks of stakeholders. Michael Quinn Patton demonstrates how the four overarching principles and 12 operating principles of this innovative approach allow evaluators, planners, and implementers to home in on sustainability and equity issues in an intervention. Compelling case examples, bulleted review lists, charts, and 80 original exhibits and graphics connect the global and local, the human and ecological. Rooted in utilization-focused, developmental, and principles-focused evaluation, Blue Marble evaluation is designed to tackle problems outside the reach of traditional evaluation practice.
 

Michael Quinn Patton, PhD, is an independent consultant who has been conducting program evaluations since the 1970s. Based in Minnesota, he was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota for 18 years and is a former president of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). His books include Blue Marble Evaluation, Developmental Evaluation, Developmental Evaluation Exemplars, Principles-Focused Evaluation, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (now in its fourth edition), and Utilization-Focused Evaluation (now in its fourth edition), among others. He is a recipient of the Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award and the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award, both from AEA, as well as the Lester F. Ward Distinguished Contribution to Applied and Clinical Sociology Award from the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology. Dr. Patton is an active trainer and workshop presenter who has conducted applied research and evaluation on a broad range of issues and has worked with organizations and programs at the international, national, state, provincial, and local levels.
 

I. The Blue Marble Perspective: Four Overarching Blue Marble Principles
1. Global Thinking Principle
2. Anthropocene as Context Principle
3. Transformative Engagement Principle
4. Integration Principle
II. Blue Marble Operating Principles
5. Transboundary Engagement Principle
6. GLOCAL Principle
7. Cross-Silos Principle
8. Time Being of the Essence Principle
9. Yin–Yang Principle
10. Bricolage Methods Principle
11. World Savvy Principle
12. Skin in the Game Principle
III. Global Systems Transformation Principles
13. Theory of Transformation Principle
14. Transformation Fidelity Principle: Evaluating Transformation
15. Transformational Alignment Principle: Transforming Evaluation to Evaluate Transformation