ABSTRACT
For over 50 years, evaluators have used theory of change approaches to articulate the causal logic underpinning how a particular intervention is intended to bring about a desired change. Over time the approach has been adopted more widely for multiple purposes: for example, informing programme design and serving as a communications tool. As theories of change continue to be used by a wide range of actors for multiple purposes, it is an opportune moment for the evaluation community to provide their perspective on the usefulness of the approach and its future directions. To provide these perspectives, we asked nearly 30 of the world's leading evaluators and programme theorists to provide a short essay responding to these three questions: How are you using theories of change in your work? What have you found to be the limits of their use? What further adaptations are needed so that they remain relevant in the future? Through their insights, the book aims to both provide evaluators and emerging programme theorists with critical perspectives on the usefulness of theories of change through concrete examples of their uses; as well as insights to a wider audience on how best to use or adapt the approach.
