Reconciling Process and Outcome in Evaluating Community Initiatives

Abstract

Community development initiatives need to be evaluated as rigorously as any other social intervention. Perceived impediments include:

• a necessary focus on process;

• problems of attribution;

• the time-scale necessary to bring about community change;

• finding useful data whereby to appraise outcome.

A ‘Theory of Change’ approach overcomes many of these obstacles; it involves making sure that you know what you want to achieve, when you want to achieve it by and that you know how you are going to get there, adapting methods and goals as you go along.

The evaluator plays an active role in working out, with all stakeholders, the long-term objectives for the initiative. The mid-term objectives are then defined, and a theory of change specified. Next, the early stage objectives are defined, and the Theory of Change is suggested, linking this to the midpoint objectives. It is possible to judge at any point in the process of the intervention the achievement of the stated objectives so far and the probability of arriving at a useful outcome.

An example of a complex community intervention being applied in eight areas of the UK is described, illustrating the ‘theory of change’ approach, and some preliminary results are reported.