#16 A New Currency: Reframing How We Value Systems Change with Heidi Peterson

What does it take to demonstrate value for money in systems change approaches? Where do we start when the work is unpredictable, non-linear, and aimed at shifting mindsets rather than just hitting targets?

Heidi Peterson is Lead Principal Consultant at Clear Horizon and a recent PhD candidate who has spent years wrestling with the "rock and hard place" of complexity versus efficiency. In this conversation, she breaks down why traditional cost-benefit analyses often fail systems change initiatives and introduces a new framework designed to capture value that usually sits "beneath the surface".

Heidi explores the shift from the evaluator as an objective "judge" to a "co-constructor" of value, why the best way to value a system is to get the system in the room, and how to stay pragmatic when resources are tight but the stakes are high.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

• A Framework to Assess the Value for Money of Systems Change Efforts — Heidi's published paper in Evaluation (Peterson, 2025)
• WorkWell Summative Report — the case study discussed throughout this episode
• WorkWell Value for Money Assessment Report
• OPM Guide to Assessing Value for Money — Julian King's value for investment approach
• Evaluative Inquiry for Systemic Change — excerpt from Emily Gates' book
• Improving Child Safety: Deliberation, Judgment and Empirical Research — Munro, Hardy & Cartwright

Learn more about related episodes on our website:

• Value for Investment with Julian King
• Rethinking Systems Evaluation with Emily Gates