Using contribution analysis to evaluate large-scale, transformation change processes

Abstract

This article explores the usefulness of Contribution Analysis to understand and assess the outcomes and impacts of emergent, large-scale and transformational change processes. As these take place over long periods of time and at national if not supra-national scale, they amplify some of the key challenges complex interventions pose to evaluators, most notably that of the emergence of activities and outcomes. While Contribution Analysis is discussed in the literature as useful for the evaluation of complex change processes, it is not usually recommended for experimental and emergent interventions. This article draws on the authors’ experience of using Contribution Analysis in one such case and explores the relative merits of the method for large-scale/transformational change interventions generally.