Introduction Maori Evaluation Research, Theory and Practice Lessons for Native Hawaiian Eva.pdfVIP

1 Maori Evaluation Research, Theory and Practice: Lessons for Native Hawaiian Evaluation Studies Peter Mataira A cloud masses, the sky darkens, leaves twist upwards and we know that it will rain. We also know that after the storm, the runoff will feed into groundwater miles away, and the sky will grow clear by tomorrow. All these events are different in time and space, yet they are all connected within the same “pattern”. Each has an influence on the rest, an influence that is usually hidden from view. You can only understand the system of the rainstorm by contemplating the whole, not any individual part of the pattern. [Research] and other human endeavors are also systems. They too are bound by invisible fabrics of interrelated actions, which often take years to fully play out their effects on each other. Since we are part of that lacework ourselves, it is doubly hard to see the whole pattern of change. Instead we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never seem to get solved - Peter Senge (1990) Introduction I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I began with Peter Senge’s “Fifth Discipline” notion of connectedness. I want to preface this with a Maori proverb, “ka pu te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi” which means “as the old net becomes tattered and torn it is time to cast out the new in its place”. This is symbolic of emergent leadership; of those young leaders wh