Two important lessons from this study include the importance of looking at systems change and the
necessity of delineating and understanding overall patterns and dynamics of change before attributing
causation. The causal mapping process used as a main analytical approach highlighted the linkages
and interrelatedness of change over time, as well as the synergistic effects of interventions.
Reviewing the causal maps reveals the nonlinear nature of change and the fact that it is difficult and
in some ways not useful to disaggregate change a priori to the program or project level but indicates
that an ongoing process of developing scenarios and causal narratives at varying levels of detail is a
desirable part of the overall research process.
By combining conventional program-specific TOC approaches as a starting point for each sector
in conducting final analysis, it was possible to identify the overlap between different programmaticor
sector-specific TOCs and how outcomes originally conceived within sectors interacted across sectors
over time to provide long-term impact in peoples’ lives—extending the delineation of analysis
to the complex system level. For instance, changes in attitudes toward the role of women and girls in
society cannot be limited to a single program or development intervention, as these changes cut
across education, health, and livelihoods.
When considered together, this emphasized the complex nature of change and the risks associated
with the narrow view that any one program or even sector can directly ‘‘cause’’ long-term
change at a population level. Program or sector-specific theories of change for any one community,
locality, or sector will never capture the wider context, or even consider the assumptions and
externalities inherent outside that self-induced boundary. Unless an integrated approach is
adapted to development planning incorporating all actors and stakeholders (government, donors,
private sector, and civil society), there will inevitably be missed opportunities for the identification
of synergies and complementary cross-sector dynamics as well as instances where interventions
‘‘pull in different directions’’ or where a promising start is not followed through due to
changing priorities or theories.
As such the implementation of prospective studies similar in method to the current assignment
but designed to provide a strategic framework to future program planning may be considered. This
would provide a strong evidence base for contextual understanding and allow more effective planning
of interventions on a longer time horizon and with a cross-sectoral appreciation.
Building on this, the scope and focus of theory-based evaluations, both in short-term and longterm,
project-specific evaluations, should be considered within the context of systems change. The
recent use of theory-based evaluation in development programs, investigating and testing causal
links in a project’s or program’s impact theory, attempts to address this by explicitly stating assumptions
in proposing relationships between program interventions and outputs and development outcomes
and impacts (Coryn et al., 2011; Donaldson, 2007).
Koleros et al. 13
Downloaded from aje.sagepub.com at Naresuan University on January 23, 2016
The Koshi hills study shows that long-term socioeconomic change is routed in systems, complex
and multisectoral (or rather ‘non-sectoral’), and attempting to deal with this complexity in a projectfocused
evaluation by controlling for these additional factors in analysis (as is standard practice in
economic analysis) on a short, program-defined time horizon, does not provide the analytic sophistication
necessary to answer research questions confidently. This raises questions about the value for
money or utility of the usual (heavily economic) project-level impact evaluations of interventions of
known effectiveness at scale.
These questions are a source of much debate among impact evaluators and development stakeholders.
Results from this study can contribute to this debate, demonstrating the complexity of socioeconomic
change over a long horizon and the inability of any one programme to demonstrate
attributable and sustained changes in a population over time in isolation and in the absence of the
myriad of other changes at play at any given time.
Even if attribution is demonstrated in the short term by one intervention through rigorous evaluation
methods, our study argues that it is methodologically difficult within a project focus to fully
understand how this attributable change will interact positively or negatively with the other developmental
and external factors to which a population is routinely exposed over time. Particularly
when attempting to demonstrate attribution at the higher impact levels of change, it is well understood
that program-level attribution declines and contribution increases.
This issue of estimating attribution in the long term might lead one to conclude that impact
Two important lessons from this study include the importance of looking at systems change and thenecessity of delineating and understanding overall patterns and dynamics of change before attributingcausation. The causal mapping process used as a main analytical approach highlighted the linkagesand interrelatedness of change over time, as well as the synergistic effects of interventions.Reviewing the causal maps reveals the nonlinear nature of change and the fact that it is difficult andin some ways not useful to disaggregate change a priori to the program or project level but indicatesthat an ongoing process of developing scenarios and causal narratives at varying levels of detail is adesirable part of the overall research process.By combining conventional program-specific TOC approaches as a starting point for each sectorin conducting final analysis, it was possible to identify the overlap between different programmaticorsector-specific TOCs and how outcomes originally conceived within sectors interacted across sectorsover time to provide long-term impact in peoples’ lives—extending the delineation of analysisto the complex system level. For instance, changes in attitudes toward the role of women and girls insociety cannot be limited to a single program or development intervention, as these changes cutacross education, health, and livelihoods.When considered together, this emphasized the complex nature of change and the risks associatedwith the narrow view that any one program or even sector can directly ‘‘cause’’ long-termchange at a population level. Program or sector-specific theories of change for any one community,locality, or sector will never capture the wider context, or even consider the assumptions andexternalities inherent outside that self-induced boundary. Unless an integrated approach isadapted to development planning incorporating all actors and stakeholders (government, donors,private sector, and civil society), there will inevitably be missed opportunities for the identificationof synergies and complementary cross-sector dynamics as well as instances where interventions‘‘pull in different directions’’ or where a promising start is not followed through due tochanging priorities or theories.As such the implementation of prospective studies similar in method to the current assignmentbut designed to provide a strategic framework to future program planning may be considered. Thiswould provide a strong evidence base for contextual understanding and allow more effective planningof interventions on a longer time horizon and with a cross-sectoral appreciation.Building on this, the scope and focus of theory-based evaluations, both in short-term and longterm,project-specific evaluations, should be considered within the context of systems change. Therecent use of theory-based evaluation in development programs, investigating and testing causallinks in a project’s or program’s impact theory, attempts to address this by explicitly stating assumptionsin proposing relationships between program interventions and outputs and development outcomesand impacts (Coryn et al., 2011; Donaldson, 2007).Koleros et al. 13Downloaded from aje.sagepub.com at Naresuan University on January 23, 2016The Koshi hills study shows that long-term socioeconomic change is routed in systems, complexand multisectoral (or rather ‘non-sectoral’), and attempting to deal with this complexity in a projectfocusedevaluation by controlling for these additional factors in analysis (as is standard practice ineconomic analysis) on a short, program-defined time horizon, does not provide the analytic sophisticationnecessary to answer research questions confidently. This raises questions about the value formoney or utility of the usual (heavily economic) project-level impact evaluations of interventions ofknown effectiveness at scale.These questions are a source of much debate among impact evaluators and development stakeholders.Results from this study can contribute to this debate, demonstrating the complexity of socioeconomicchange over a long horizon and the inability of any one programme to demonstrateattributable and sustained changes in a population over time in isolation and in the absence of themyriad of other changes at play at any given time.Even if attribution is demonstrated in the short term by one intervention through rigorous evaluationmethods, our study argues that it is methodologically difficult within a project focus to fullyunderstand how this attributable change will interact positively or negatively with the other developmentaland external factors to which a population is routinely exposed over time. Particularlywhen attempting to demonstrate attribution at the higher impact levels of change, it is well understoodthat program-level attribution declines and contribution increases.This issue of estimating attribution in the long term might lead one to conclude that impact
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