Grow As We Go

Grow As We Go

WM2U is a live and dynamic approach, that recognises the complexity of the issues and involves multiple stakeholders in learning. Given our perspective on system change, we view the emergence of more relational and systemic practices amongst parents and carers, practitioners, senior leaders, and funders, as necessary conditions for achieving system change at scale.  

Many of the desired qualities and behaviours that we are seeking are difficult to capture or quantify through conventional approaches to evaluation.  With this in mind, we adopt a participatory and embedded approach that enables us to track our learning, so that we can amplify the practices we find to be effective and adjust our course where needed.  We call this approach ‘Grow as We Go’. 

Our approach blends local largely qualitative and participatory data collection and analysis with System Dynamic modelling, exploring how things are connected and how they change over time because they are connected. 
We have a series of update reports and literature and practice and policy reviews written by the Learning Partner team who have an embedded role alongside the work of WM2U and lead the development of the Learning Framework that shapes and articulates the vision of WM2U.

The Learning Partner team are, Cathy Sharp (Research for Real), Jo Kennedy (Animate), Emily Whyte (Research for Real) and Douglas McKelvie and Donald Scott (Symmetric Scenarios).   In 2024, WM2U is also being supported by Kerstin Jorna an analyst on secondment from Dundee City Council, with support from the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. 

We call this approach ‘Grow as We Go’(GAWG) and is best expressed in the Blueprint below.