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In early 2021 we were asked to support two initiatives in South-East Queensland by undertaking a developmental evaluation of how they collaborated across multiple partners to reduce, prevent and ultimately end homelessness. The initiatives, Brisbane and Logan Zero, started with the ‘Advance to Zero’ methodology, and adapted this as they progressed. We were asked to track how contributors collaborated to tackle the systemic nature of this challenge. This gave us the opportunity to work with...

Advocacy for public accountability aims to produce certain reactions from government officials or service providers. However, the reactions can be many and diverse, and it is not always clear to advocates how to interpret them and decide on next steps—whether to intensify efforts or back off; continue the same strategy or make adjustments. This paper presents a framework to help accountability advocates and practitioners interpret government reactions to their efforts and move forward...

Using the hammer-and-nail analogy of the law of the instrument, often attributed to Abraham Maslow, this essay explores the minimal utilisation of theories of change within programmes despite their almost mandatory inclusion in programme proposals, designs, and evaluations. The essay then considers reasons for this lack of use and explores potential solutions to the same. The essay contends that theories of change can be used for a variety of purposes—in programme design; as complementary...

Theory of change is an explicit articulation of how an intervention creates an intended result to address a specific problem. This ‘theory’ is difficult to re/construct if the ‘context’ is complex, conflict-ridden, and uncertain. In such contexts, causal linkages leading to a desired outcome tend to be messy, multilevel, multidirectional, and unpredictable, as plans and strategies often do not work as anticipated. Whilst some activities lead to outcomes, others do not. Outcomes (positive or...

"Critical systems thinking is a multiperspectival and multimethodological approach to complex problems that takes advantage of the variety of systems approaches, aware of their different strengths and weaknesses"--

This essay makes the case that an actor-based approach to theory of change development can assist philanthropic foundations to shift from their conventional approaches of supporting stand-alone grants or siloed programmes to strategies that focus collective efforts across a range of partners on achieving systems change. It presents the concept of an actor-based approach to theory of change development and provides an illustrative example to demonstrate its suitability. The essay then...

This book sets out the responses from a group of international practitioners and experts to three questions posed by the editors around how they are using theories of change in their work, what they have found to be the limits of their use, and what further adaptations they feel are needed so that theories of change remain relevant and useful in the future. The responses we received are, given the diversity of the contributors, understandably diverse with reference to perspective, emphasis,...

**A New York Times Bestseller**'Co-Intelligence is the very best book I know about the ins, outs, and ethics of generative AI. Drop everything and read it cover to cover NOW' Angela DuckworthConsumer AI has arrived. And with it, inescapable upheaval as we grapple with what it means for our jobs, lives and the future of humanity.Cutting through the noise of AI evangelists and AI doom-mongers, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick has become one of the most prominent and provocative explainers of...

Beyond a useful tool for evaluators, theories of change can serve as an effective tool for programme delivery. However, they are often not used to their full potential. This essay will cover ways in which theories of change can be more actively used in programme management to improve programme delivery. Examples of this include using theories of action in the planning, delivery, and reporting against activities, and integrating assumptions identified in the theory of change in risk...

Theories of change for interventions in complex systems present a challenge for usual approaches to developing, representing, and using theories of change. Interventions in complex systems operate under conditions of ongoing uncertainty, not because of a lack of information but because of three features that contribute to this uncertainty: (1) numerous, diverse, and interacting components; (2) nonlinear relationships; and (3) changes brought about through self-organisation, agency,...

This essay discusses how theory of change can be used as a design tool to help funders and their grantees shift from short-term, discrete activities to addressing deeper, systems-level change. Facilitating a theory of change design process as part of an effort to co-design a strategy should, ideally, lead to a strategy that highlights collective efforts and ultimately stimulates meaningful and powerful collaboration. Yet, engaging programme teams and grantees in theory of change has been...

The CLARISSA Social Protection (SP) intervention provided six months of unconditional cash transfers to every household in the Gojmohol neighbourhood,...

Background: Ex-post evaluation of sustainability has been done for 40 years in global development. However, it has been done far less than 1% of all global development projects, for there is little proof that “sustainable” development is or is not. Similarly, foreign aid projects are implemented to foster sustainability, but without the benefit of evidence from expost evaluations of what drove it and limited research on the benefits of robust exit strategies. Purpose: Transparency in values...

The framework’s four principles, described below, are not exclusive to social accountability interventions; for example, Pact has published tools on how to use political economy analysis or integrate adaptive management principles into programming. Rather, the principles highlight how – by including the right combination of mindsets, management approaches, analytic approaches and tools – practitioners can develop and apply a deep understanding of a system to improve relationships within it,...

The UNDP has been exploring new approaches to M&E to better understand and address complex systems challenges. Traditional linear project-based planning and evaluation methods are insufficient for dealing with the unpredictable nature of such systems. The UNDP’s new Strategic Plan calls for a shift in M&E practices to align with the complexity of today’s global challenges. Key points from the blog post include: Learning and Adapting: There’s a need for continuous learning and adaptation in...

The Covid-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) programme was a three-year initiative funded by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) that brought together 20 projects from across the global South to understand the socioeconomic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, improve existing responses, and generate better policy options for recovery. The research covered 42 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East to understand the ways in which the pandemic...

AI already is being used in some areas of process improvement, and the usage of this technology — including generative AI — promises to grow. That’s because it can perform tasks faster and much less expensively than humans alone. But it will never fully replace people — and that poses management challenges.

By Millie Begovic, Head of the UNDP Strategic Innovation Unit