Rethinking Development, Aid, Social Change (including role of evaluation) Books: Aid on the Edge of Chaos: Rethinking International Cooperation in a Complex World, Ramalingam, Ben. The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development, Andrews, Matt Navigating Complexity in International Development: Facilitating Sustainable Change at Scale, Danny Burns (Author), Stuart Worsley (Author). The Politics of Evidence and […]
Resources
Readings and Resources – New Transformative Paradigms in Development, Aid, Social Change Work
September 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Resources for collective learning initiatives
April 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
AEC Theory of Action Facilitation Guide
April 2, 2013 by 1 Comment
Theory of Action Facilitation Guide
Evaluating impact and defining success
March 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A collection of resources on impact evaluation, with a particular emphasis evaluating complex social change and transformative development processes. Includes alternative and emerging approaches, and current debates around the politics of defining value.
Theory of Action/Theory of Change – From theory to practice….
December 5, 2012 by 2 Comments
Much of our work as evaluators and capacity builders integrates an approach called Theory of Action (ToA). ToA is similar to Theory of Change (ToC), and in practice there is often little difference between the two in implementation. Generally, ToA provides some boundaries to the process and focuses on an organization, initiative or program’s particular role […]
Theory of Change – Resources
December 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
A Review of the Use of ‘Theory of Change’ in International Development (UK Dept. of Int’l Development) Actknowledge (an organizations in the US making important contributions to the mainstreaming of ToC) and their online tool – TOCO New Philanthropy Capital guide to ToC An excellent collection of resources on ToC by the Hivos Knowledge Programme Just Associates […]
Linking Theory with Action – An example
December 5, 2012 by 2 Comments
Background: We recently conducted a Theory of Action process with a capacity building organization, the Progressive Technology Project (PTP), which works with political organizing and social movement groups in the U.S. The group wanted to develop their Theory of Action, but also have a very focused discussion linking the process to decision-making over the next couple years. […]
Theory of Action/Theory of Change – Basic steps…
December 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
When to use This process is best used at the beginning of a program or initiative or as an initial step in setting up an evaluation. It is a powerful tool to surface assumptions and support critical thinking and reflection while also strengthening planning processes and sharpening strategies. It also provides a framework for monitoring […]
Theory of Action/Theory of Change- A few tips and lessons learned…
December 5, 2012 by 2 Comments
For a ToA to be more than just a map, the facilitator needs to be sure that the organization has the understanding and capacity to take on facilitation itself (for example by providing suggestions, a simple toolkit). The goal is for the process of critical thinking to happen independently of a facilitator, and for […]
Accountability and Learning
July 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Exploding the myth of incompatibility between accountability and learning in evaluation.