120123caredefiningtheorieschange_final

120123CAREDefiningTheoriesChange_FINAL

This paper is a summary of the findings of research that assessed 19 peacebuilding projects in three conflict-affected countries: Uganda, Nepal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From the findings, it is clear that the process of articulating and reviewing theories of change adds transparency, clarifies project logic, highlights assumptions that need to be tested, and helps identify appropriate participants and partners.
While they are not a panacea, devoting greater attention to theories of change is a simple and relatively inexpensive means of increasing the quality of peacebuilding interventions.
Theories of change can encourage an overly linear approach, when change in conflict contexts can be more organic or systemic. In the recommendations section, it is made clear that donors should allow funded agencies to review their theories of change throughout the project cycle.

This is a review of three conflict affected countries using theories of change. It found out that the process of articulating and reviewing theories of change adds rigour and transparency, clarifies project logic, and highlights assumptions.

Defining Theories of Change

stein_valters_2012_understanding_toc_in_international_development_0

This paper reviews the concepts and common debates within the &#8216;Theory of Change&#8217; literature, resulting from a detailed analysis of available donor, agency and expert guidance documents. A number of key issues are highlighted in the paper and these inform the collaborative research.
Following this review of the literature, Stein and Valters undertook fieldwork in Sri Lanka and Nepal hosted by the local TAF office. This paper is the first output from a collaborative research project between JSRP and The Asia Foundation (TAF).
<h2>Summary</h2>
This is a review of the concepts and common debates within ‘Theory of Change’ (ToC) material, resulting from a search and detailed analysis of available donor, agency and expert guidance documents. The review was undertaken as part of a Justice and Security  Research Program (JSRP) and The Asia Foundation (TAF) collaborative project, and focuses on the field of international development.
The project will explore the use of Theories of Change (ToCs) in international development programming, with field research commencing in August 2012. While this document will specifically underpin the research of this collaboration, we also hope it will be of interest to a wider audience of those attempting to come to grips with ToC and its associated literature.
From the literature, we find that there is no consensus on how to define ToC, although it is commonly understood as an articulation of how and why a given intervention will lead to specific change. We identify four main purposes of ToC – strategic planning, description, monitoring and evaluation and learning – although these inevitably overlap.
For this reason, we have adopted the term ‘ToC approaches’ to identify the range of applications associated with this term. Additionally, we identify some confusion in the terminology associated with ToC. Of particular note is the lack of clarity surrounding the use of the terms ‘assumption’ and ‘evidence’. Finally, we have also drawn out information on what authors feel makes for ToC ‘best practice’ in terms of both content and process, alongside an exploration of the remaining gaps where more clarity is needed.
A number of ‘key issues’ are highlighted throughout this review. These points are an attempt to frame the literature reviewed analytically, as informed by the specific focus of the JSRP-TAF collaboration. These issues are varied and include the confusion surrounding ToC definitions and use, the need to ‘sell’ a ToC to a funder, how one can know which ‘level’ a ToC should operate on, the relationship between ToC and evidence-based policy, and the potential for accuracy, honesty and transparency in the use of ToC approaches.
This paper does not aim to give definitive answers on ToC; indeed there are many remaining important issues that lie beyond the scope of this review. However, in highlighting a number of key issues surrounding current understandings of ToC approaches, this review hopes to pave the way for more constructive and critical discussion of both the concept and practical application of ToCs.

This paper reviews the concepts and common debates within the Theory of Change literature, resulting from a detailed analysis of available donor, agency and expert guidance documents. The authors followed up this review with fieldwork.

Understanding Theory of Change in international development: A review of existing knowledge

Theory of Change expert, David L. Colby, presents an introductory webinar on Theory of Change methodology. In the webinar session, David Colby provides an insightful overview of methodology, and highlights the strengths of using such a tool for planning, strategy, organisational learning and evaluation.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/chIdGSQ2q4I" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

In the webinar session, David Colby provides an insightful overview of Theory of Change methodology, and highlights the strengths of using such a tool for planning, strategy, organisational learning and evaluation.