Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation: Introducing the Magenta Book 2020 Supplementary Guide on Complexity

Tuesday 3rd March 2020 - Church House, Deans Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3NZ

The Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN) has produced supplementary guidance for the 2020 revision of the Magenta Book. The Magenta Book, published by HM Treasury, is the official government guide about policy evaluation. The Magenta Book 2020 Supplementary Guide: Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation is based on three years’ research and development of evaluation methods by CECAN. It will be published in early 2020 by HM Treasury to accompany the 2020 edition of the Magenta Book.

In the run up to the launch, CECAN are holding events in London and Birmingham to introduce the Supplementary Guide to users. These events will be of particular interest to policy makers, analysts and commissioners of evaluations and also to evaluation practitioners including public sector evaluation contractors.

Both events will introduce and explain:

• Key concepts and points to consider when working in complex and challenging policy areas.

• The Magenta Book 2020 Supplementary Guide: Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation – What is it? Why is it important? When and how to use it.

• Two key sections of the Supplementary Guide in greater detail: (i) Complexity-Appropriate Commissioning and Managing; and (ii) Selecting Approaches.

Please note, this EventBrite booking is for our London event on 3rd March 2020, if you would like to register for our Birmingham event, to be held on 16th March 2020, please click here. The event is free but places are limited, so registration is required. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

For those who are unable to attend in person, we will be filming the presentations and will make them publicly available on our CECAN website.