Case study
Objective
To equip individuals and organisations to design impact evaluations more effectively using a contribution analysis framing.
Relevance
Many development programmes have overlapping activities that are regularly adapted in collaboration with multiple partners to respond to ongoing changes in the operating environment. However, traditional impact evaluation methods that measure differences in baseline and endline outcomes are not well suited to deal with this level of complexity.
Contribution Analysis has emerged as a structured approach that is better able to address these real-world challenges. It consists of a step-wise, iterative process of refining Theory of Change. Mixed method research designs are used to verify the critical and contested assumptions.
Figure 1. Iterative use of theories of change in contribution analysis
Source: Apgar, M., Hernandez, K., and Ton. G (2020) ‘Contribution Analysis for Adaptive Management’, ODI
Design
This short course, delivered by the Centre for Development Impact (CDI) – a joint initiative between the Institute of Development Studies, Itad and University of East Anglia –supported individuals and organisations to learn how to design impact evaluations more effectively using a contribution analysis approach.
Participants of the online short course learned through a combination of online presentations, live Q&A, independent study, groupwork, and one-to-one sessions.
As participants progressed through the course, they applied their knowledge incrementally – ending up with a ‘finished’ example of a strong, interlinked mixed-methods research design to verify the theory of change of a project or programme.
Delivery
The course is delivered by:
- Giel Ton, Research Fellow
- Marina Apgar, Research Fellow
- Mieke Snijder, Research Fellow
Participant information
This course has been attended by a range of development actors, including:
- Experienced independent evaluators
- Programme implementers
- Early-stage researchers interested in innovative and mixed research methods
- Evaluation commissioners, including policy makers.
Participant numbers
121
Impact
Since we began running this course in 2018, we have helped to build the capacity of more than 100 individuals to design impact evaluations more effectively using a contribution analysis framing.
Each course has enabled participants to:
- Understand current debates on impact evaluation methodologies.
- Develop an evaluation design that responds to the evaluation questions and context.
- Choose appropriate methods to gather and analyse data to support conclusions about effectiveness.
- Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of the various evaluation approaches.
Relationships built through the short course have also led to ongoing partnerships. For example, after the 2019 course, the MEL Lead at Rainforest Alliance requested support with the Terms of Reference (ToR) for an upcoming evaluation they had formulated. Four years later, IDS and Rainforest Alliance are still partnering, for example on the Closing the Living Wage Gap project, which evaluates the living wage approach set out in the 2020 Rainforest Alliance (RA) Sustainable Agriculture Standard.
Key contacts
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