Julian King
@juliankingnz.bsky.social
Public policy consultant | Evaluation and Value for Investment at https://juliankingnz.substack.com
If your immediate reaction to this quiz is to...
A) volunteer as the test case – you're Gryffindor
B) question its construct validity – Ravenclaw
C) file it away for your next group exercise – Hufflepuff
D) consider how you could leverage it – Slytherin
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
A) volunteer as the test case – you're Gryffindor
B) question its construct validity – Ravenclaw
C) file it away for your next group exercise – Hufflepuff
D) consider how you could leverage it – Slytherin
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Evaluator Sorting Hat
If Hogwarts was a school for evaluators, which house would you belong in?
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:39 AM
If your immediate reaction to this quiz is to...
A) volunteer as the test case – you're Gryffindor
B) question its construct validity – Ravenclaw
C) file it away for your next group exercise – Hufflepuff
D) consider how you could leverage it – Slytherin
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
A) volunteer as the test case – you're Gryffindor
B) question its construct validity – Ravenclaw
C) file it away for your next group exercise – Hufflepuff
D) consider how you could leverage it – Slytherin
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
If a non-validated four-category evaluator typology makes your teeth itch, you are a ravenclaw…
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Evaluator Sorting Hat
If Hogwarts was a school for evaluators, which house would you belong in?
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:05 PM
If a non-validated four-category evaluator typology makes your teeth itch, you are a ravenclaw…
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
What’s your evaluator house - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin?
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Evaluator Sorting Hat
If Hogwarts was a school for evaluators, which house would you belong in?
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:44 AM
What’s your evaluator house - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin?
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Two blogs on impact theatre: 1) the problem; 2) a solution…
juliankingnz.substack.com/p/navigating...
juliankingnz.substack.com/p/navigating...
Navigating donor wants and needs in evaluation - Part 1
The case of the 1000 Days Fund
juliankingnz.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Two blogs on impact theatre: 1) the problem; 2) a solution…
juliankingnz.substack.com/p/navigating...
juliankingnz.substack.com/p/navigating...
Evaluation systems built on VfI uncover and articulate real value, not just metrics.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Scaling Value for Investment
Lessons from supporting adoption of the VfI approach across settings, sectors, and organisations
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Evaluation systems built on VfI uncover and articulate real value, not just metrics.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Reposted by Julian King
#TrainNews: Te Huia have launched a survey on the future of Te Huia.
Te Huia says this information will help to shape what Te Huia might look like in the future.
MORE: yourvoicematters.waikatoregion.govt.nz/future-of-te...
Te Huia says this information will help to shape what Te Huia might look like in the future.
MORE: yourvoicematters.waikatoregion.govt.nz/future-of-te...
Future of Te Huia | Your Voice Matters Waikato
This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete and is open until Sunday, 30 November.
yourvoicematters.waikatoregion.govt.nz
November 16, 2025 at 8:28 PM
#TrainNews: Te Huia have launched a survey on the future of Te Huia.
Te Huia says this information will help to shape what Te Huia might look like in the future.
MORE: yourvoicematters.waikatoregion.govt.nz/future-of-te...
Te Huia says this information will help to shape what Te Huia might look like in the future.
MORE: yourvoicematters.waikatoregion.govt.nz/future-of-te...
I’m in awe of my friends who have achieved B Corp status, but we need more options.
Which are you?
A Corp: Altruistic – purpose before profit.
B Corp: Benefit for all - business with conscience.
C Corp: Caring capitalist - profits, people, planet.
D Corp: Divided-driven dinosaur.
Which are you?
A Corp: Altruistic – purpose before profit.
B Corp: Benefit for all - business with conscience.
C Corp: Caring capitalist - profits, people, planet.
D Corp: Divided-driven dinosaur.
November 16, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I’m in awe of my friends who have achieved B Corp status, but we need more options.
Which are you?
A Corp: Altruistic – purpose before profit.
B Corp: Benefit for all - business with conscience.
C Corp: Caring capitalist - profits, people, planet.
D Corp: Divided-driven dinosaur.
Which are you?
A Corp: Altruistic – purpose before profit.
B Corp: Benefit for all - business with conscience.
C Corp: Caring capitalist - profits, people, planet.
D Corp: Divided-driven dinosaur.
Reposted by Julian King
Her: Have you watched Nobody Wants This?
Me: No, is it about AI?
Me: No, is it about AI?
November 15, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Her: Have you watched Nobody Wants This?
Me: No, is it about AI?
Me: No, is it about AI?
The big idea behind this framework is deceptively simple: social investments have value propositions, and if we can define the value proposition, we can evaluate how well it is being met.
This simplicity carries profound implications…
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
This simplicity carries profound implications…
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Navigating donor wants and needs in evaluation - part 2
A solution to the impact theatre problem we identified in part 1
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The big idea behind this framework is deceptively simple: social investments have value propositions, and if we can define the value proposition, we can evaluate how well it is being met.
This simplicity carries profound implications…
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
This simplicity carries profound implications…
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Impact theatre can divert NGOs away from their purpose and values. In this blog we lay out the problem. Next week, we’ll offer a way forward . open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Navigating donor wants and needs in evaluation - Part 1
The case of the 1000 Days Fund
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Impact theatre can divert NGOs away from their purpose and values. In this blog we lay out the problem. Next week, we’ll offer a way forward . open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Instant coffee isn’t a bad drink. Its only crime is the use of the name “coffee”. It should have a different name to avoid misleading. Similarly, “evaluator-free evaluation” may provide useful and valid analysis - it just shouldn’t use the name “evaluation”.👇
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Evaluator-free evaluation
A one-minute and one-hour evaluation, by Perplexity Pro
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Instant coffee isn’t a bad drink. Its only crime is the use of the name “coffee”. It should have a different name to avoid misleading. Similarly, “evaluator-free evaluation” may provide useful and valid analysis - it just shouldn’t use the name “evaluation”.👇
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
October 20, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Julian King
Just in case anyone wants to add Simeon or Luxons face to this for Thursdays strike
October 18, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Just in case anyone wants to add Simeon or Luxons face to this for Thursdays strike
AI is super, super useful and I won’t be told otherwise.
October 19, 2025 at 5:49 AM
AI is super, super useful and I won’t be told otherwise.
October 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Rather than making evaluators obsolete, I could see AI increasing demand for evaluation, but only if we get the mix of human and AI inputs right. Woe betide those who get the mix wrong…
"Deloitte Australia will issue a partial refund to the federal government after admitting that artificial intelligence had been used in the creation of a $440,000 report littered with errors including three nonexistent academic references and a made-up quote from a Federal Court judgement."
October 6, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Rather than making evaluators obsolete, I could see AI increasing demand for evaluation, but only if we get the mix of human and AI inputs right. Woe betide those who get the mix wrong…
Will AI make evaluators redundant? Or could it enable better, quicker, cheaper evaluation, boosting demand and making evaluators busier than ever?
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
October 6, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Will AI make evaluators redundant? Or could it enable better, quicker, cheaper evaluation, boosting demand and making evaluators busier than ever?
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
This has been up for less than 2 weeks and is already my most read blog post of all 147 to date. It’s always the one you least suspect eh… open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Applying Bradford Hill Criteria to observational evidence
Towards evidentiary criteria for causal inference in evaluation
open.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:54 AM
This has been up for less than 2 weeks and is already my most read blog post of all 147 to date. It’s always the one you least suspect eh… open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Reposted by Julian King
Wow look at this street. There must be incredible productivity gains on this crucial economic route from Simeon Browns blanket speed increases. So safe, and so fitting at 50km/h!
September 27, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Wow look at this street. There must be incredible productivity gains on this crucial economic route from Simeon Browns blanket speed increases. So safe, and so fitting at 50km/h!
Reposted by Julian King
Had to witness this for myself – it’s real, and even worse as seen from the footpath.
(Context: these narrow back-streets had a community-supported 30kmh speed limit… but in mid-2025, were forcibly reverted to 50kmh by the current govt.)
Dangerous, petty, ridiculous kneejerk vice-signalling, ugh.
(Context: these narrow back-streets had a community-supported 30kmh speed limit… but in mid-2025, were forcibly reverted to 50kmh by the current govt.)
Dangerous, petty, ridiculous kneejerk vice-signalling, ugh.
September 27, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Had to witness this for myself – it’s real, and even worse as seen from the footpath.
(Context: these narrow back-streets had a community-supported 30kmh speed limit… but in mid-2025, were forcibly reverted to 50kmh by the current govt.)
Dangerous, petty, ridiculous kneejerk vice-signalling, ugh.
(Context: these narrow back-streets had a community-supported 30kmh speed limit… but in mid-2025, were forcibly reverted to 50kmh by the current govt.)
Dangerous, petty, ridiculous kneejerk vice-signalling, ugh.
The pipe dream of objectivity is alluring but doomed - the real choice is between making values explicit or hiding them under a rug.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
September 4, 2025 at 3:16 AM
The pipe dream of objectivity is alluring but doomed - the real choice is between making values explicit or hiding them under a rug.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Goldilocks and the Three Criteria - not too specific, not too vague: just right.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
September 2, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Goldilocks and the Three Criteria - not too specific, not too vague: just right.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Value is more than a number, but the number travels halfway around the world while the full value story is pulling its boots on.
Welcome to Episode 141 of Old Man Yells at Cloud...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Welcome to Episode 141 of Old Man Yells at Cloud...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Communicating value
The headline travels around the world while the real story is pulling its boots on
open.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Value is more than a number, but the number travels halfway around the world while the full value story is pulling its boots on.
Welcome to Episode 141 of Old Man Yells at Cloud...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Welcome to Episode 141 of Old Man Yells at Cloud...
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
There are some who believe the only real #evaluation is one that sums up an entire policy or program in a single number.
I see genuine value in that number. But only if it’s used right. It’s not objective, nor precise. It doesn't count everything that matters.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
I see genuine value in that number. But only if it’s used right. It’s not objective, nor precise. It doesn't count everything that matters.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
Ten Commandments for Social CBA and SROI
The Stone Tablets of Social Value
open.substack.com
July 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
There are some who believe the only real #evaluation is one that sums up an entire policy or program in a single number.
I see genuine value in that number. But only if it’s used right. It’s not objective, nor precise. It doesn't count everything that matters.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...
I see genuine value in that number. But only if it’s used right. It’s not objective, nor precise. It doesn't count everything that matters.
open.substack.com/pub/julianki...