Browse theory Resources
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Addressing Attribution of Cause and Effect in Small n Impact Evaluations: Towards an Integrated Framework With the results agenda in the ascendancy in the development community, there is an increasing need to demonstrate that development spending makes a difference, that it has an impact. This requirement to demonstrate results has fuelled an increase in the demand for, and production of, impact evaluations. There exists considerable consensus among impact evaluators conducting large n impact evaluations involving tests of statistical difference in outcomes between the treatment group and a properly constructed comparison group.
Author: Howard White and Daniel Phillips Type: Research & Reports Date: Jun 1, 2012
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Advocacy and Policy Change This issue of Harvard Family Research Project's The Evaluation Exchange focuses entirely on advocacy evaluation. It features over two dozen articles on current evaluation practice, including theory, case studies, interviews, and practical tips. Author: Coffman, Julia (ed.) Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Mar 1, 2007
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Advocacy Evaluation Update (Issue #5, February 2009) The fifth edition of Innovation Network's Advocacy Evaluation Update (AEU) newsletter includes the following:
1. News from the Advocacy Evaluation Advances convening in California;
2. Advocacy evaluation session summaries from the American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual meeting;
3. AEA 2009 call for sessions; and
4. News on the upcoming Foundation Review issue on advocacy and policy change.
Author: Innovation Network Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Feb 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (350.84 KB) -
Advocacy Evaluation Update (Issue #7, October 2009) The seventh issue of Advocacy Evaluation Update (AEU) newsletter was the first produced as part of the strategic partnership between Innovation Network and the Center for Evaluation Innovation. It was also the first edited by Julia Coffman, an experienced evaluator and the Center's Director.
1. Feature: Good in Theory, But Does It Work in Practice? By Simon Starling, Oxfam Great Britain
2. Profiles from the Field: The Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California San Francisco
Author: The Center for Evaluation Innovation; Innovation Network Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Oct 28, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (491.56 KB) -
AEA Paper: "Accountability and the No Child Left Behind Act: Implications for Public Policy" Cindy Roper of Clemson University delivered this paper (and a presentation of the same title) at the 2008 American Evaluation Association conference. Roper examined accountability measures for a policy initiative (in this case, the No Child Left Behind act) through the lens of organizational theory. Author: Roper, Cindy Type: Research & Reports Date: Nov 8, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (54.08 KB) -
AEA Presentation: "Accountability and the No Child Left Behind Act: Implications for Public Policy" Cindy Roper of Clemson University delivered the following slides (and a paper of the same title) at the 2008 American Evaluation Association conference. Roper examined accountability measures for a policy initiative (in this case, the No Child Left Behind act) through the lens of organizational theory. Author: Roper, Cindy Type: Presentation Slides Date: Nov 8, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (44.7 KB) -
An Evaluation Approach for an Environmental Think Tank and Advocacy Organization Johanna Morariu described how Innovation Network worked with the Post Carbon Institute to develop an organizational evaluation framework. We developed and fine tuned several assessment areas for think tank evaluation and advocacy evaluation with interview data collected from key informants. Then, in consultation with key staff from the Post Carbon Institute, we created an organizational theory of change. The theory contains information about the organization’s mission; audiences; strategies; focusing events, crises, and windows of opportunity; desired shifts, and impact. Author: Johanna Morariu Type: Opinion (blog, editorial) Date: Apr 19, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Ask the Expert: An Introduction to Theory of Change In this article from The Evaluation Exchange, Andrea Anderson, a research associate at the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change, shares an introduction to theory of change and steps for creating a theory of change. Author: Erin Harris, HFRP Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Nov 4, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Brief: "Pathways for Change: 6 Theories about How Policy Change Happens" ORS' Sarah Stachowiak discusses six theories on the process of policy change. This brief was published with the support of The California Endowment. Author: Organizational Research Services Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (200.21 KB) -
Community-Based Project Evaluation Guide This 76-page .pdf evaluation guide was originally created in 1997. It was updated in 2000. The guide is intended to help practitioners evaluate community-based programs with a focus on children, youth, and families. The guide explores the links between theory and research, goals and objectives, measures, variables, and program implementation. It includes examples of outcomes for children and youth issue areas, samples, and worksheets. Author: Callor, Suzanne et al. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Dec 14, 2000 Be the first to review this resource! Download (235.68 KB) -
Designing a Results Framework for Achieving Results: A How-To Guide A results framework serves 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 results that directly relate to those objectives. This publication provides how-to guidance for developing results frameworks by discussing the following: Author: Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Sep 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (834.16 KB) -
Developmental Evaluation This presentation by Ricardo Wilson-Grau at the Michigan Association for Evaluation's annual conference is based on the concept of Developmental Evaluation (DE) elaborated by Michael Quinn Patton over the past 20 years and now crystallised in a book – Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use. The presentation presents an overview of DE, explains the basic theory behind DE, when can DE be used in evaluation, as well as the differences between DE and traditional evaluation. Author: Ricardo Wilson-Grau Type: Presentation Slides Date: May 3, 2000 Be the first to review this resource! Download (5.05 MB) -
Do-It-Yourself Logic Models: Examples, Templates, and Checklists [Handout] Logic models are nonprofit road maps: they help you diagram where you are now and where you hope to be in the future. They are used for program planning, program management, fundraising, communications, consensus-building, and evaluation planning.
Author: Johanna Morariu and Ann Emery, Innovation Network Type: Templates & Samples Date: Feb 25, 2014 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (105.1 KB) -
Evaluating System Change: A Planning Guide This methods brief provides guidance on planning effective evaluations of system change interventions. It begins with a general overview of systems theory and then outlines a three-part process for designing system change evaluations. This three-part process aligns (1) the dynamics of the targeted system or situation, (2) the dynamics of the system change intervention, and (3) the intended purpose(s) and methods of the evaluation.
Author: Margaret B. Hargreaves Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.63 MB) -
Grantcraft: Evaluation Technique Series To help grantmakers understand some newer evaluative approaches and weigh their advantages, GrantCraft has developing a collection of briefing notes. Each note explains the basics of one technique and answers some common questions about its use. A mini-case, based on one grantmaker’s experiences, is featured in each guide. Additional literature about the topic is also provided.
Participatory Action Research - Involving "All The Players" in Evaluation and Change
Author: Grantcraft Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Guidance Note #1: Introduction to Impact Evaluation This is the first guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation.This first guidance note, Introduction to Impact Evaluation, provides an overview of impact evaluation, explaining how impact evaluation differs from – and complements – other types of evaluation, why impact evaluation should be done, when and by whom.
Author: Patricia J. Rogers Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Mar 12, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.68 MB) -
Guidance Note #2: Linking Monitoring and Evaluation to Impact Evaluation This is the second guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation. This second guidance note, Linking Monitoring and Evaluation to Impact Evaluation, illustrates the relationship between routine M&E and impact evaluation – in particular, how both monitoring and evaluation activities can support meaningful and valid impact evaluation.
Author: Burt Perrin Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Apr 16, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.24 MB) -
Guidance Note #3: Introduction to Mixed Methods in Impact Evaluation Mixed methods (MM) evaluations seek to integrate social science disciplines with predominantly quantitative (QUANT) and predominantly qualitative (QUAL) approaches to theory, data collection, data analysis and interpretation. The purpose is to strengthen the reliability of data, validity of the findings and recommendations, and to broaden and deepen our understanding of the processes through which program outcomes and impacts are achieved, and how these are affected by the context within which the program is implemented.
Author: Michael Bamberger Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Sep 5, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating policy influence Author: Harry Jones Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Feb 23, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (171.99 KB) -
Guidelines for Evaluating Non-Profit Communications Efforts The Communications Consortium Media Center has been engaged in its Media Evaluation Project since 2002, providing a review of current communications evaluation in the nonprofit world and the social science of communications strategies. The project produced four working papers by experts from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, Harvard Family Research Project and Michigan State University. These papers served as the research base for "Guidelines for Evaluating Non-Profit Communications Efforts." This working paper summarizes the project's findings and offers guidelines for the eva Author: Communications Consortium Media Center Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2004 Be the first to review this resource! Download (113.86 KB) -
ILAC Brief 16: "Contribution analysis: An approach to exploring cause and effect" In this brief from Biodiversity International's Institutional Learning and Change Initiative (ILAC), John Mayne discusses the steps involved in contribution analysis (including the development of a theory of change), an evaluation approach that may be useful when others are not practical. More specifically, Mayne provides an example of an evaluation capacity building project for agricultural research organizations. Author: Mayne, John Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: May 1, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (129.56 KB) -
Logic Model & Evaluation Plan Templates This handout accompanied an evaluation session for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN), which was held in June 2014 in Washington, DC. The front page of the handout is a logic model template and the back page is an evaluation plan template. Author: Johanna Morariu, Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Templates & Samples Date: Jun 2, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (120.48 KB) -
Logic Model Workbook (.doc) Innovation Network's own workbook (revised in late 2010), which offers an introduction to the processes and concepts of the logic model. This workbook can be used alone or in conjunction with the Logic Model Builder at the Point K Learning Center. Also available in .pdf format. Author: Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Dec 31, 2010 Point K Pick
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Logic Model Workbook (.pdf) Innovation Network's own workbook (revised in 2010), offering an introduction to the processes and concepts of the logic model. This workbook can be used alone or in conjunction with the Logic Model Builder at the Point K Learning Center. Author: Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Dec 31, 2010 Point K Pick
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Orientation to Theory of Change Organizational Research Services produced this document to introduce its clients to Theory of Change and the "Layer Cake" model. Author: Organizational Research Services Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (110.1 KB)