Theory Of Change Approach Research Articles

Evaluating the impact of the Academic Enrichment Programme on widening access to selective universities: Application of the Theory of Change framework

Evaluating the impact of widening participation interventions can be challenging. This article discusses some of the difficulties in attributing change to complex widening participation interventions and suggests that the Theory of Change (ToC) approach can address some of these challenges by evidencing the contribution interventions have made to observed outcomes and longer‐term impact. This article sets out the application of a ToC approach as a framework to plan and design the evaluation of the Academic Enrichment Programme (AEP) at the University of Birmingham, which aims to support under‐represented students secure places at selective universities. The evaluation sought to explore the extent to which the programme impacted on students’ academic aspirations, motivation, attainment and progression to selective universities. It presents the findings of the evaluation, which combined the ToC with a mixed methods longitudinal design spanning six cohorts of students. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to track students’ progress across their engagement with the programme and into higher education. The results suggest that the ToC programme was largely verified. The AEP seems to promote academic attainment, with AEP students outperforming national and regional benchmarks. The AEP also appears to increase entry rates to Russell Group universities for disadvantaged students, however, the effect seems to be greater when combined with alternative offers. This article demonstrates the value of the ToC approach in strengthening both the evaluation design and the contribution claims of the observed results to the widening participation intervention.

Implementation of district-based clinical specialist teams in South Africa: Analysing a new role in a transforming system

BackgroundImproving the quality of health care is a national priority in many countries to help reduce unacceptable levels of variation in health system practices, performance and outcomes. In 2012, South Africa introduced district-based clinical specialist teams (DCSTs) to enhance clinical governance at the lowest level of the health system. This paper examines the expectations and responses of local health system actors in the introduction and early implementation of this new DCST role.MethodsBetween 2013 and 2015, we carried out 258 in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions with managers, implementers and intended beneficiaries of the DCST innovation. Data were collected in three districts using a theory of change approach for programme evaluation. We also embarked on role charting through policy document review. Guided by role theory, we analysed data thematically and compared findings across the three districts.ResultsWe found role ambiguity and conflict in the implementation of the new DCST role. Individual, organisational and systemic factors influenced actors’ expectations, behaviours, and adjustments to the new clinical governance role. Local contextual factors affected the composition and scope of DCSTs in each site, while leadership and accountability pathways shaped system adaptiveness across all three. Two key contributions emerge; firstly, the responsiveness of the system to an innovation requires time in planning, roll-out, phasing, and monitoring. Secondly, the interconnectedness of quality improvement processes adds complexity to innovation in clinical governance and may influence the (in) effectiveness of service delivery.ConclusionRole ambiguity and conflict in the DCST role at a system-wide level suggests the need for effective management of implementation systems. Additionally, improving quality requires anticipating and addressing a shortage of inputs, including financing for additional staff and skills for health care delivery and careful integration of health care policy guidelines.

Towards appropriate mainstreaming of “Theory of Change” approaches into agricultural research for development: Challenges and opportunities

Food insecurity persists in many parts of Africa and Asia, despite ongoing agricultural research for development (AR4D) interventions. This is resulting in a growing demand for alternative approaches to designing and evaluating interventions in complex systems. Theory of Change (ToC) is an approach which may be useful because it enables stakeholders to present and test their theories and assumptions about why and how impact may occur, ideally within an environment conducive to iterative reflection and learning. However, ToC is yet to be appropriately mainstreamed into development by donors, researchers and practitioners. We carried out a literature review, triangulated by interviews with 26 experts in African and Asian food security, consisting of researchers, advisors to programs, and donors. Although 17 (65%) of the experts had adopted ToC, their responses and the literature revealed four challenges to mainstreaming: (i) different interpretations of ToC; (ii) incoherence in relationships among the constituent concepts of ToC; (iii) confused relationships between ToC and project “logframes”; and (iv) limitations in necessary skills and commitment for enacting ToC. A case study of the evolution of a ToC in a West African AR4D project over 4 years which exemplified these challenges is presented. Five recommendations arise to assist the mainstreaming of ToC: (i) select a type of ToC suited to the relative complexity of the problem and focal system of interest; (ii) state a theory or hypotheses to be tested as the intervention progresses; (iii) articulate the relationship between the ToC and parallel approaches (e.g. logframe); (iv) accept that a ToC is a process, and (v) allow time and resources for implementers and researchers to develop ToC thinking within projects. Finally, we suggest that communities of practice should be established among AR4D and donor organisations to test, evaluate and improve the contribution that ToCs can make to sustainable food security and agricultural development.

Lest we forget, primary health care in Sub-Saharan Africa is nurse led. Is this reflected in the current health systems strengthening undertakings and initiatives?

# Background Primary health care (PHC) in most African countries is nurse led. In South Africa, PHC has a unique history where efforts to provide holistic health care to rural communities began in the early 1940s. There are initiatives to ensure that doctors including General Practitioners (GPs) get to public clinics in South Africa-great initiatives but bearing in mind the current doctor patient ratios and the difficulties to get doctors into rural areas, until we get there, nurses will be and are providing most of PHC services. # Methods We tracked policy implementation aimed at achieving Universal Health Coverage in one pilot district in South Africa from 2011-2015. Qualitative data was collected during three phases 2011-2012 (Contextual mapping), 2013-2014 (Phase 1) and 2015 (Phase 2). A theory of change approach was employed. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with participants using a standard interview guide. Participants ranged from provincial, district, sub-district and facility actors involved in policy implementation. # Results Many health systems strengthening activities are being carried out namely; PHC re-engineering package made up of district clinical specialists, school health and ward based teams, referral systems strengthening, management strengthening, and general practitioner (GP) contracting. # Conclusions We found no targeted health systems strengthening initiatives to counteract the challenges faced by PHC nurses which are well documented in literature. What we see currently missing are initiatives directed at the work done by nurses in a PHC setting, to assist them resolve the so well documented challenges they are faced with in their daily work. If PHC is nurse led, we advocate going step by step with the aid of the nursing process and assess what could be done to streamline, strengthen, innovate and support the work a PHC nurse does, guided by systems thinking, hence we propose a Framework for Health Systems Strengthening in a nurse led PHC setting, that takes into account the challenges and the roles of a PHC nurse Figure 1.

How to achieve the desired outcomes of advance care planning in nursing homes: a theory of change

Advance care planning (ACP) has been identified as particularly relevant for nursing home residents, but it remains unclear how or under what circumstances ACP works and can best be implemented in such settings. We aimed to develop a theory that outlines the hypothetical causal pathway of ACP in nursing homes, i.e. what changes are expected, by means of which processes and under what circumstances. The Theory of Change approach is a participatory method of programme design and evaluation whose underlying intention is to improve understanding of how and why a programme works. It results in a Theory of Change map that visually represents how, why and under what circumstances ACP is expected to work in nursing home settings in Belgium. Using this approach, we integrated the results of two workshops with stakeholders (n = 27) with the results of a contextual analysis and a systematic literature review. We identified two long-term outcomes that ACP can achieve: to improve the correspondence between residents’ wishes and the care/treatment they receive and to make sure residents and their family feel involved in planning their future care and are confident their care will be according to their wishes. Besides willingness on the part of nursing home management to implement ACP and act accordingly, other necessary preconditions are identified and put in chronological order. These preconditions serve as precursors to, or requirements for, accomplishing successful ACP. Nine original key intervention components with specific rationales are identified at several levels (resident/family, staff or nursing home) to target the preconditions: selection of a trainer, ensuring engagement by management, training ACP reference persons, in-service education for healthcare staff, information for staff, general practitioners, residents and their family, ACP conversations and documentation, regular reflection sessions, multidisciplinary meetings, and formal monitoring. The Theory of Change map presented here illustrates a theory of how ACP is expected to work in order to achieve its desired long-term outcomes while highlighting organisational factors that potentially facilitate the implementation and sustainability of ACP. We provide the first comprehensive rationale of how ACP is expected to work in nursing homes, something that has been called for repeatedly.

A Protocol for Concretizing and Contextualizing a Critical Realist “Theory of Neighbourhood Context, Stress, Depression, and the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHD)”, Sydney Australia

Introduction: This research protocol has been developed as part of an integrated care initiative for vulnerable families in Sydney, Australia. The aim is to develop “whole-of-government” interventions that break intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and poor life outcomes. A realist methodology will be described for the translation of empirically ‘data derived’ causal middle-range theories of social mechanisms, into health and social programme theories, whose theoretical propositions can be operationalized and studied in concrete situations using collective theory driven approaches. Theory/Methods: The research settings are in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. The design will be a longitudinal, multi-level, mixed method realist evaluation of applied programme interventions that seek to break the intergenerational cycle of social disadvantage and poor child health and developmental outcomes. The programme of research will consist of three components: 1) Operationalization of the theory and designing of programme initiatives for implementation; 2) Evaluation of the translated programme and implementation theory using Theory of Change and Realistic Evaluation; and 3) Theory Testing of realist hypotheses using both intensive and extensive critical realist research methods including realist structural modelling. Results: No applicable Discussion: The proposed programme of research will assist in translating empirical explanatory theory building to theory driven interventions. The research will be situated in socially disadvantaged regions of Sydney where the local child and family interagencies will collaborate to design and implement new initiatives that address significant disparities in early childhood development and adolescent outcomes attributed to neighbourhood circumstances, family stress and intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and poor mental health. Conclusions: Central to this protocol is the development of programme theory. Much of the theory driven and realist evaluation literature begins with existing interventions. The first task in those situations is to identify the underlying programme theory. In preparing this programme of work we were faced with the translation of causal theory to programme and implementation theory. We have proposed as a first step in this protocol the formal translation of the middle-range ‘causal’ theory into a middle-range ‘programme theory’ followed by an intervention design process based on Theory of Change approaches. Lessons learned: In preparing the protocol we have identified extensive debate concern the nature of implementation theory and programme theory. There is also on-going critical analysis of the nature of context (c), mechanisms (M) and outcomes (o) and how these might be defined and measured. Limitations: The application of realist methodologies to population health interventions is relatively new and there is little extant literature on the translational process from causal theory to programme theory. The study protocol is thus breaking new ground and it is anticipated that the approaches described will require modification. Suggestions for future research: The protocol development identified a need for further clarification of the nature of causal mechanism and programme mechanisms among the integrated care and evaluation research communities.

Defining, achieving, and evaluating collaborative outcomes: a theory of change approach

ABSTRACTGovernments have repeatedly claimed that collaboration improves public service outcomes. However, defining, achieving, and evaluating collaborative outcomes is often problematic. Analysis of multi-sectoral projects in Wales, which were supported by the European Social Fund, exemplifies these challenges. Shifts in policy discourses and the interplay between national and local agendas produced complex and contested understandings of outcomes which made difficult to evaluate the projects’ achievements. We argue that the pursuit of collaboration needs to be understood not simply as an attempt to improve public service effectiveness but also ‘cultural efficacy’. The conclusions offer reflections relevant for theory and practice.

Does SDG 3 have an adequate theory of change for improving health systems performance?

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well–being for all at all ages” [1]. Unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), SDG 3 takes a comprehensive view of health and well–being by expanding its focus beyond a core set of diseases. Given the global prominence of the SDGs for driving the development agenda, it is important to consider whether SDG 3 and the indicators it tracks are well–designed to achieve this intended goal. In order to examine whether SDG 3 can actually help achieve this goal, this article considers whether it has an adequate theory of change (ToC) for improving health systems performance. Such an analysis rests on two core assumptions: 1) in order to achieve the SDG 3 goal, one must improve health systems performance, and 2) in order to achieve this goal, the approach must have a strong underlying ToC. Each assumption is considered below. Since the launch of the MDGs, experience has shown that without improvements in health systems performance, progress on the MDGS was both limited and potentially unsustainable [2]. Bottlenecks in the health system limited nations’ ability to achieve progress on combatting specific diseases. In addition, theoretical and empirical work has argued that providing services which are not only clinically effective but also affordable and acceptable has intrinsic and instrumental value. Recognizing the importance of overall health systems performance, numerous organizations including WHO, the World Bank, Global Fund, and GAVI have focused on health systems strengthening (HSS) as an important component of public health programming. Therefore, since SDG 3 aims to improve both health and well–being for all populations in a sustainable way, achieving this goal will likely require broad improvements in health systems performance. With regards to the second assumption, theories of change (ToC) are standard practice in public health and development [3,4]. They help guide priority–setting, decision–making, monitoring and evaluation, budgeting, and resource allocation, among other activities. A strong ToC can ensure that all stakeholders work toward the same goal(s). The SDGs aim to improve both the coherence of development policies and their implementation at the national level, and the United Nations has offered formal guidance on ways that nations can integrate and tailor the SDGs into their national policies [5]. This guidance explicitly advocates for horizontal policy coherence (ie, coherence across different programs and sectors), vertical policy coherence (ie, coherence between different stakeholders), and linking national policies based on the SDGs to budgets [6]. Given that the SDGs aim to improve policy coherence and drive implementation at the national level, it is instructive to consider whether they have internal coherence and a strong underlying logic themselves. The ToC approach provides a useful approach to explore this question. If the inputs and outputs tracked under SDG 3 have clear linkages to improving its impact indicators, then working toward SDG 3 will allow countries to pursue a comprehensive program for improving health systems performance. On the other hand, if the inputs and outputs tracked do not link to each other or do not have logical connections to impact indicators, then aiming to improve all indicators under SDG 3 could lead to a haphazard and uncoordinated set of public health programs.

An evaluation of the economic and business investment impact of an integrated package of public transport improvements funded by a Workplace Parking Levy

Hypothecated revenue from the Nottingham Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) is being used to fund additional tram lines, refurbish the Nottingham Railway Station and to sustain the supported Linkbus network. This strategy aims to constrain congestion, cater for future economic growth and make Nottingham a more attractive location for business investment and to live, visit and work.Literature reveals that the Nottingham WPL forms a relatively small proportion of a business’ turnover and that the availability of an efficient public transport system is an important factor in business location decisions. Consequently, central to the WPL package is the expectation that an improved public transport network will prove sufficiently attractive to the business community to offset any perceived negativity of the WPL and hence make Nottingham an attractive business location relative to other UK and European Cities.This paper aims to evaluate the economic and inward investment impact of the Nottingham WPL package.The Theory of Change approach is used to analyse the impact complemented by benchmarking against comparator Cities. A range of available indicators are used including economic output, employment, net business VAT registrations, the level of investment enquiries and successes and investment case studies.The paper concludes that there is strong evidence that the WPL is not having a significantly negative impact on inward investment. Additionally, strong growth in employment and output, combined with a positive movement of inward investment indicators, suggests that Nottingham remains relatively attractive to investors. There is emerging evidence from investment case studies that the public transport improvements are playing a role in this.

How Decision Support Systems Can Benefit from a Theory of Change Approach.

Decision support systems are now mostly computer and internet-based information systems designed to support land managers with complex decision-making. However, there is concern that many environmental and agricultural decision support systems remain underutilized and ineffective. Recent efforts to improve decision support systems use have focused on enhancing stakeholder participation in their development, but a mismatch between stakeholders' expectations and the reality of decision support systems outputs continues to limit uptake. Additional challenges remain in problem-framing and evaluation. We propose using an outcomes-based approach called theory of change in conjunction with decision support systems development to support both wider problem-framing and outcomes-based monitoring and evaluation. The theory of change helps framing by placing the decision support systems within a wider context. It highlights how decision support systems use can "contribute" to long-term outcomes, and helps align decision support systems outputs with these larger goals. We illustrate the benefits of linking decision support systems development and application with a theory of change approach using an example of pest rabbit management in Australia. We develop a theory of change that outlines the activities required to achieve the outcomes desired from an effective rabbit management program, and two decision support systems that contribute to specific aspects of decision making in this wider problem context. Using a theory of change in this way should increase acceptance of the role of decision support systems by end-users, clarify their limitations and, importantly, increase effectiveness of rabbit management. The use of a theory of change should benefit those seeking to improve decision support systems design, use and, evaluation.

P119 Theory of Change Model for Clinic-Based PrEP Programme Evaluation

Background A national programme to provide Truvada HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently being considered in England. Some men already access PrEP and some sexual health clinics already offer PrEP monitoring. Aim(s)/objectives We created a Theory of Change (ToC) to define the key components of a clinic-based PrEP programme to reduce HIV incidence. We identified indicators, outputs and outcomes to aid programme evaluation for a large London sexual health clinic. Methods We used a ToC approach to define necessary pre-conditions, indicators, outputs and outcomes for our PrEP delivery programme. Results The aim of our PrEP programme is to prevent HIV seroconversion in those at greatest risk. There are three broad areas: 1) identifying those eligible; 2) engaging eligibles to initiate PrEP and other HIV prevention activities; 3) maintaining effective adherence in those at continuing risk while advising therapy cessation for those no longer at risk. We estimate that approximately 1,200 men attending our service annually could be eligible for PrEP. Assuming a high level of uptake, these men would require 1,000 follow-up appointments annually in order to fulfil quality measures of three monthly HIV and STI testing in those on PrEP. Discussion Using a ToC approach we have defined what a clinic-based PrEP programme might look like against our current service specification to enable us to collect meaningful evaluation data. This ToC might be used by other clinics to evaluate PrEP programmes, and allow comparison across programmes to build understanding of PrEP delivery and enhance new national PrEP surveillance systems.

Using a theory driven approach to develop and evaluate a complex mental health intervention: the friendship bench project in Zimbabwe.

BackgroundThere is a paucity of data on how to deliver complex interventions that seek to reduce the treatment gap for mental disorders, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The need for well-documented protocols which clearly describe the development and the scale-up of programs and interventions is necessary if such interventions are to be replicated elsewhere. This article describes the use of a theory of change (ToC) model to develop a brief psychological intervention for common mental disorders and its’ evaluation through a cluster randomized controlled trial in Zimbabwe.MethodsA total of eight ToC workshops were held with a range of stakeholders over a 6-month period with a focus on four key components of the program: formative work, piloting, evaluation and scale-up. A ToC map was developed as part of the process with defined causal pathways leading to the desired impact. Interventions, indicators, assumptions and rationale for each point along the causal pathway were considered.ResultsPolitical buy-in from stakeholders together with key resources, which included human, facility/infrastructure, communication and supervision were identified as critical needs using the ToC approach. Ten (10) key interventions with specific indicators, assumptions and rationale formed part of the final ToC map, which graphically illustrated the causal pathway leading to the development of a psychological intervention and the successful implementation of a cluster randomized controlled trial.ConclusionToC workshops can enhance stakeholder engagement through an iterative process leading to a shared vision that can improve outcomes of complex mental health interventions particularly where scaling up of the intervention is desired.

Using theory of change to design and evaluate public health interventions: a systematic review.

BackgroundDespite the increasing popularity of the theory of change (ToC) approach, little is known about the extent to which ToC has been used in the design and evaluation of public health interventions. This review aims to determine how ToCs have been developed and used in the development and evaluation of public health interventions globally.MethodsWe searched for papers reporting the use of “theory of change” in the development or evaluation of public health interventions in databases of peer-reviewed journal articles such as Scopus, Pubmed, PsychInfo, grey literature databases, Google and websites of development funders. We included papers of any date, language or study design. Both abstracts and full text papers were double screened. Data were extracted and narratively and quantitatively summarised.ResultsA total of 62 papers were included in the review. Forty-nine (79 %) described the development of ToC, 18 (29 %) described the use of ToC in the development of the intervention and 49 (79 %) described the use of ToC in the evaluation of the intervention. Although a large number of papers were included in the review, their descriptions of the ToC development and use in intervention design and evaluation lacked detail.ConclusionsThe use of the ToC approach is widespread in the public health literature. Clear reporting of the ToC process and outputs is important to strengthen the body of literature on practical application of ToC in order to develop our understanding of the benefits and advantages of using ToC. We also propose a checklist for reporting on the use of ToC to ensure transparent reporting and recommend that our checklist is used and refined by authors reporting the ToC approach.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-016-0422-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Self-Assessing of the Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Intelligence in Schools

The paper presents the results of an evaluation of the Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Organisational Intelligence (OI) competences self-assessment tools developed and applied by the IGUANA 1 project. In the paper Emotional Intelligence and Organisational Intelligence competenc- es are discussed, their use in action research experiments to assess and support the development of innovation in schools is presented, together with the results of these experiments. The paper also discusses how innovation support in schools was linked to a 'Theory of Change' approach in the IGUANA project and applied to support innovation plans developed by Portuguese and Lithu- anian schools. Finally, the results of the use of the Theory of Change approach are discussed.

Divergence in Community Participation Policy: Analysing Localism and Community Empowerment Using a Theory of Change Approach

The last two decades have witnessed a significant turn towards community participation in public policy around the globe, raising concerns that states are resorting to ‘government through community’, shifting responsibilities onto communities. In order to unpack the ambiguous rhetoric of policy statements, this article employs ideas from evaluation methodology to develop a generic theory of change for community participation policy. The model is then utilised to analyse and compare the UK Coalition Government’s Big Society/Localism agenda and the Scottish Government’s Community Empowerment approach, demonstrating the ways in which these represent a clear example of policy divergence, and potentially significant alternatives to state–community relations in the context of austerity. The article also demonstrates the potential wider applicability of ‘theories of change’ methodology for policy analysis.

Developing a mental health care plan in a low resource setting: the theory of change approach

BackgroundScaling up mental healthcare through integration into primary care remains the main strategy to address the extensive unmet mental health need in low-income countries. For integrated care to achieve its goal, a clear understanding of the organisational processes that can promote and hinder the integration and delivery of mental health care is essential. Theory of Change (ToC), a method employed in the planning, implementation and evaluation of complex community initiatives, is an innovative approach that has the potential to assist in the development of a comprehensive mental health care plan (MHCP), which can inform the delivery of integrated care. We used the ToC approach to develop a MHCP in a rural district in Ethiopia. The work was part of a cross-country study, the Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME) which focuses on developing evidence on the integration of mental health in to primary care.MethodsAn iterative ToC development process was undertaken involving multiple workshops with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds that included representatives from the community, faith and traditional healers, community associations, non-governmental organisations, Zonal, Regional and Federal level government offices, higher education institutions, social work and mental health specialists (psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses). The objective of this study is to report the process of implementing the ToC approach in developing mental health care plan.ResultsA total of 46 persons participated in four ToC workshops. Four critical path dimensions were identified: community, health facility, administrative and higher level care organisation. The ToC participants were actively engaged in the process and the ToC encouraged strong commitment among participants. Key opportunities and barriers to implementation and how to overcome these were suggested. During the workshops, a map incorporating the key agreed outcomes and outcome indicators was developed and finalized later.ConclusionsThe ToC approach was found to be an important component in the development of the MHCP and to encourage broad political support for the integration of mental health services into primary care. The method may have broader applicability in planning complex health interventions in low resource settings.

Making It Happen: Training health-care providers in emergency obstetric and newborn care

An estimated 289,000 maternal deaths, 2.6 million stillbirths and 2.4 million newborn deaths occur globally each year, with the majority occurring around the time of childbirth. The medical and surgical interventions to prevent this loss of life are known, and most maternal and newborn deaths are in principle preventable. There is a need to build the capacity of health-care providers to recognize and manage complications during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period. Skills-and-drills competency-based training in skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric care and early newborn care (EmONC) is an approach that is successful in improving knowledge and skills. There is emerging evidence of this resulting in improved availability and quality of care. To evaluate the effectiveness of EmONC training, operational research using an adapted Kirkpatrick framework and a theory of change approach is needed. The Making It Happen programme is an example of this.

What are the impacts of nature conservation interventions on human well-being: a systematic map protocol

Abstract Background International policy has sought to emphasize and strengthen the link between the conservation of natural ecosystems and human development. Furthermore, international conservation organizations have broadened their objectives beyond nature-based goals to recognize the contribution of conservation interventions in sustaining ecosystem services upon which human populations are dependent. While many indices have been developed to measure various human well-being domains, the strength of evidence to support the effects, both positive and negative, of conservation interventions on human well-being, is still unclear. Methods/Design This protocol describes the methodology for examining the research question: What are the impacts of nature conservation interventions on different domains of human well-being in developing countries? Using systematic mapping, this study will scope and identify studies that measure the impacts of nature conservation interventions on human well-being at local to regional scales. The primary objective of this study is to synthesize the state and distribution of the existing evidence base linking conservation and human well-being. In addition, a theory of change approach will be used to identify and characterize the causal linkages between conservation and human well-being, with attention on those studies that examine the role of ecosystem services. Key trends among the resulting studies will be synthesized and the range of studies organized and presented in a graphical matrix illustrating the relationships between types of interventions and types of outcomes. Results of the study are intended to help conservation and development practitioners and the academic community to improve research studies and conservation practices in developing countries in order to achieve both conservation and human well-being outcomes.

Interrogating the theory of change: evaluating impact investing where it matters most

How is impact investing evaluated? How can and should it be evaluated? Over the past 5 years, there has been solid progress in developing social impact metrics at the industry-wide, firm and investment levels and the industry is becoming increasingly data-rich. Nevertheless, evaluation practices still tend to focus on counting inputs and outputs, and telling stories. Moreover, an important element is too often underdeveloped, invisible, not explicit or missing altogether. That element is theory of change, an approach and tool drawn from the field of program evaluation. This article reviews cases where theory of change has, in fact, been used to good effect at various levels of the impact investing industry. It also discusses a range of qualitative and quantitative methods which could be usefully blended with the theory of change approach, and affirms the equally important imperatives of accountability and learning across all combinations of methods. The article concludes that a more comprehensive application of theory of change to all levels of the field is required – and especially to the micro-level of individuals, households and communities, where the results of impact investments matter most. Such an approach can help build an impact investing industry that is adaptive, transparent and self-sustaining. To this end, creating an ongoing dialogue between the development evaluation field and the impact investing industry, and designing and launching new education and training initiatives, are key tasks in the years ahead.

Evaluating Executive Leadership Programs

As executive leadership development programs become more informal and experiential, traditional evaluation models of learning transfer based on fixed objectives do not capture emerging program outcomes. What is needed is a more robust approach for increasingly complex environments that looks at open objectives and changes that have occurred that affect both the individual and the organization. This article presents an evaluation model based on a Theory of Change approach that identifies critical incidents of new behavior and explores changes at individual and organizational levels. This evaluation model relies on repositioning management learning in leadership development programs and incorporates theories of action, workplace, and organizational learning. Two case studies of executive leadership development in the United States and Europe demonstrate the model’s usefulness. Both studies explore emerging program outcomes using in-depth interviews with participants in the leadership programs. Key stakeholders include individuals who design and deliver leadership development programs as well as the leaders who must make difficult decision regarding where to invest limited development dollars. In addition, evaluators of those programs as well as scholars of both evaluation and of leadership development will find this approach of interest. The approach is useful both for guiding practice and for developing knowledge about what types of learning occur in these programs and what persists.