Theory of Change

Results-orientation, impact assessment, and value for money have been creating a growing buzz in the fields of international cooperation and peacebuilding for the last few years. But what are the consequences of an increased focus on results for practice? ...

These guidelines provide supplementary examples and advice for programmes implementing the DCED Standard in conflict affected environments. They outline the challenges that programmes may face when implementing each of the eight elements of the Standard, and give practice guidance for results measurement in these contexts. ...

This report, “Linking Program Design and Program Evaluation: A Challenging Task,” captures the findings of a meta-review of program evaluation reports conducted by American University’s Center for Peacebuilding and Development and Search for Common Ground....

This self-guided modular curriculum breaks the project cycle down into easily manageable stages as they relate to the design, monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding projects and programs. The modules are meant to enable peacebuilders to learn simple, practical, and effective tools to design high quality programs and follow them up with rigorous monitoring and evaluation....

Recognising a need for better, tailored approaches to learning and accountability in conflict settings, the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) launched an initiative to develop guidance on evaluating conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities.  The objective of this process has been to help improve evaluation practice and thereby support the broader community of experts and implementing organisations to enhance the quality of conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions....

A results frameworkserves as a key tool in the development landscape, enabling practitioners to discuss and establish strategic development objectives and then link interventions to intermediate outcomes and resultsthat directly relate to those objectives. This publication provides guidance for developing results frameworks. ...

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 Program2 (JSRP) and The Asia Foundation3 (TAF) collaborative project, and focuses on the field of international development....

To advance the use of theory-based inquiry within the field of peacebuilding, CARE International and International Alert undertook a two and a half year research project to develop light touch methods to monitor and evaluate peacebuilding projects, and pilot these in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nepal and Uganda....

In recent years, the peacebuilding field made a commitment to improving its evaluation practices. From the newer Search for Common Ground evaluation database, to the established OECD-DAC evaluation guidelines, to the practical CDA Collaborative Learning Projects' Toolbox and Church and Rogers' Designing for Results, resourced for program design and implementation evaluation now exist....

When we talk about the current state of DM&E in the peacebuilding field, we often lament the fact that we do not have an established evidence base of what works, and that our methodological approaches are still not that sophisticated compared with other disciplines such as education and health....

A product of the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the day-long Evidence Summit, which was held in December 2011 at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, and this report were made possible in part thanks to support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and USIP....

This one-page document gives a high-level overview of what we have found most successful in our programs.   ...

The Institute for Conflict Research, based in Belfast, has performed independent evaluations of PeacePlayers International's local program for several years. In this, their most recent evaluation, they examine the way the organization's programming has evolved over the years to offer a more comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and youth development in Belfast. ...

We need good theories of social change for building the thinking of all involved in processes of development, as individuals, as communities, organisations, social movements and donors. The conventional division in the world today between policy-makers (and their theorising) and practitioners is deeply dysfunctional, leaving the former ungrounded and the latter unthinking. Good concepts help us to grasp what is really happening beneath the surface....

This document aims to be a guide to help to direct the design of a Theory of Change applied to social change processes. However, it is an initial approach that must be furthered based on new experiences and practical applications. ...

Change in the lives of people, in communities and societies is often a complex process. Its course and outcomes depend on many different forces and actors in the context who are pushing for changes in different directions....

Outcome Mapping recognizes that development is essentially about people relating to each other and their environment. The originality of this approach lies in its shift away from assessing the products of a program to focus on changes in behaviour, relationships, actions, and activities in the people, groups, and organizations it works with directly....

This guide is aimed at staff working in all such organisations. There are 30 tools and techniques contained here, divided into five categories: i) Strategy Development; ii) Management Techniques; iii) Collaboration Mechanisms; iv) Knowledge Sharing and Learning Processes; and v) Knowledge Capture and Storage. ...

Framing is about presenting an issue in a specific light and from a specific perspective. Framed messages are usually intended to make the audience focus on certain aspects of an issue but not on others....

Understanding how social norms affect change in practices and behaviours is becoming an increasingly ‘hot topic’ in development discourse.   ...