Dr Katarzyna Cieslik katarzyna.cieslik@durham.ac.uk
Lecturer in Human Geography
Theorising theories of change in international development
Cieslik, Katarzyna; Leeuwis, Cees
Authors
Cees Leeuwis
Contributors
David Ludwig
Editor
Birgit Boogaard
Editor
Phil Macnaghten
Editor
Cees Leeuwis
Editor
Abstract
Theories of change (ToCs) are development tools that describe how a certain set up of conditions and actions leads to producing specific results. They are used to design, monitor, evaluate, and scale interventions and are increasingly required by both donor and research agencies. In this paper, we explore the links between theories of change and actual social scientific theories about change, which have not been explored in academic literature. We make three essential contributions. First, we explain how the rising interest in evidence-based policy fuelled the evolution of development management tools, including Logit Models, Log Frames and theories of change. Second, we argue that the narrow understanding of ‘research evidence’ resulted in scientific contributions being limited to conducting experimental evaluations (RCTs) meant to test and validate the projects’ theories of change. This we criticise as both methodologically unsound and epistemologically limiting. Third, we introduce alternative sources of ‘evidence’ that credit the social science theories and methods and engage meaningfully with local stakeholders (target communities and implementing staff).
Citation
Cieslik, K., & Leeuwis, C. (2021). Theorising theories of change in international development. In D. Ludwig, B. Boogaard, P. Macnaghten, & C. Leeuwis (Eds.), The Politics of Knowledge in Inclusive Development and Innovation (165-180). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003112525-15
Online Publication Date | Oct 15, 2021 |
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Publication Date | 2021 |
Deposit Date | Mar 16, 2022 |
Publicly Available Date | May 10, 2022 |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 165-180 |
Edition | 1st ed. |
Book Title | The Politics of Knowledge in Inclusive Development and Innovation |
Chapter Number | 10 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003112525-15 |
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Copyright Statement
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis
.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons AttributionNon Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
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