Moving on from logical frameworks to find the ‘missing middle’ in international development programmes

ABSTRACT

Theory-driven approaches to evaluation are increasingly employed in international development programmes to assess how programmes achieve outcomes – planned and unplanned. While the logical framework has long been used in international development, several leading international organisations are turning to theory-of-change (TOC) and realist approaches. For development practitioners, the nomenclature and process of constructing programme theory can seem daunting and the added value unclear. Using a real-world case study, this paper aims to demystify the terminology behind three theory-driven approaches (i.e. the logical framework, TOC and realist approaches) and address questions of why and how theory-driven evaluation can be incorporated into practice to provide a more informed and nuanced understanding of how programmes ‘work’. Using a nutrition case study, we highlight the key differences and commonalities between each approach and illustrate the process of constructing programme theory for each approach. A combination of the TOC and realist approaches is then explored to identify the added benefit to a combined approach in constructing programme theory. The combination of approaches provides a deeper knowledge of context and mechanisms required for change. Five guiding principles are identified to facilitate in the application of this combined approach.

KEYWORDS:

• Theory-driven evaluation
• logical framework
• theory-of-change
• realist evaluation
• logic model
• mechanism
• context
• programme theory
• nutrition specific
• nutrition sensitive
• outpatient therapeutic feeding programmes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hilary Floate

Hilary Floate is a PHD student at the University of Queensland School of Public Health.  Her dissertation focuses on the effectiveness of large-scale cash transfer programmes on child nutrition status in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to pursuing her PHD, Hilary worked for several years with international agencies in the field of nutrition, food security and public health programming. Hilary has implemented cash transfer programmes with planned nutrition outcomes in several emergency contexts, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jo Durham

Jo Durham is an evaluator and researcher. Prior to moving to Australia, she worked in a number of different roles and contexts in international development including in Laos, Cambodia, South Sudan and Lebanon. She currently teaches disaster Management at Queensland University of Technology

Geoffrey C. Marks

Geoffrey C. Marks has broad experience in public health nutrition, including working with national and international agencies on a range of nutrition policy, program and capacity development initiatives across the Indo-Pacific region. His research is concerned with the evidence for effective nutrition programming with application to food insecurity, food systems, micronutrient malnutrition and non-communicable disease prevention. Website: http://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/50