Ideas from complexity science and systems thinking are demonstrably helpful in a shift from exploring (systematic) linear net effects of an intervention towards exploring wider (systemic) effects occurring elsewhere. But where these ideas of impact' are coupled with a narrow use of the contingency approach, some less helpful triangulated' relationships might be evident. These relationships might be regarded in terms of an iron triangle', a metaphor used frequently to exemplify pernicious relations of power. The most notable expression of the iron triangle is the military-industrial complex'. This article briefly outlines generic features of the iron triangle in terms of systemic triangulation' - an idea linking three core systems concepts of interrelationships, perspectives and boundaries. Drawing on a tradition of systems thinking in practice, an associated systemic triangulator is introduced as both a diagnostic and planning heuristic; a device for not only diagnosing symptoms of an evaluation-industrial complex but for prompting ideas towards a more benign evaluation-adaptive complex for impact evaluation.
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