This article presents a case study of engaging stakeholders in the early stages of an impact evaluation of educational development work in a UK university. The rationale for undertaking participative impact evaluation is outlined in relation to the national and local context. The aim is to contribute to wider knowledge about appropriate methodology to lead to a better understanding of change processes in learning and teaching. We outline how stakeholder engagement in evaluation in this context has been influenced by the Aspen Institute's 'Theories of Change' approach, and how we interpreted and applied it in the context of a grant scheme for educational development work. Our experience is discussed in relation to previous learning about the application of the approach, in particular in the health sector. This has highlighted implications for future work, not least that it should be informed by a more appropriate theoretical framework for exploring the complexity of evaluation in this context. K E Y W O R D S : educational development; higher education; impact evaluation; stakeholder engagement; Theories of Change Evaluation

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We argue that that systemic methodologies rooted in the learning paradigm and, in particular, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) are well‐suited to tackle the complexity of family business organisational processes. We report on the way in which SSM has been incorporated into the training programme of the ‘Institute for Social and Organizational Innovation’ (INNOVA), towards equipping family business managers with tools for better understanding of complexity surrounding family business processes. We suggest that an SSM application can be enhanced by awareness of interpretative‐driven concepts such as: ‘map/territory’, ‘revelation/demarcation’ and ‘positive/negative capabilities’. This set of systemic concepts can act as a useful backdrop to an SSM application. We illustrate this by reporting on the deployment of SSM concepts during two workshops with family business managers in Barcelona, The paper should be of interest to systems practitioners, consultants and managers concerned about using systemic tools to make sense of businesses in complex environments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A framework based on Ulrich's critical systems heuristics (CSH) is presented to organize second‐order critical inquiry in systems practice and action research. It is argued that such an approach not only improves the rigour of systems methodologies in action in a specific ‘situation of interest’ but also brings rigour to research aimed at improving systems practice. The paper draws on critical systems heuristics and illustrates its application in the context of an intervention using Checkland's soft systems methodology to discuss the environmental impact of mining operations in southern Peru. We sketch the context in which the systemic intervention was carried out, reporting on the initial soft systems methodology stages (relevant systems, root definitions and CATWOE analysis) produced in workshops with stakeholders. The paper illustrates how learning about improvement in systems practice can be guided with the use of second‐order boundary critique. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper is concerned with managing e-learning communities. It reports on the process and methods adopted in an EU project called MEDFORIST. The challenges of managing this project were considerable because there was significant social diversity amongst the e-leaning community members. The paper outlines some key principles derived from teleology (or, the ‘study of purpose’) that were used to structure some key aspects of the management of the e-learning group processes. These principles were developed and used, in order to structure enquiring activities to inform the design, monitoring and evaluation activities in the provision of e-learning group processes. The paper outlines the use of such enquiry as a foundation for the continued development of the application of e-learning in contexts in which divergent human groups come together in unstructured, non-prescriptive human learning activities. As such, the paper outlines some key methodological requirements for managing e-learning group processes.