The change from depopulation to population increase in the more remote rural areas of England is analyzed using data from a survey of 300 households in North Devon. The heterogeneous nature of the migrants and their reasons for migration are stressed. "The reasons for leaving the former area of residence tended to relate to lifestyle, personal or environmental factors whereas the reasons for choosing North Devon were more often about jobs and house prices. This complexity and diversity clearly makes difficult the quest for a single theory of the repopulation process."
A theory of change approach uses logic models to articulate how a programme is intended to operate and to test empirically whether and if so how it achieves its stated objectives. Theories of change have been used in evaluation research across a range disciplines and public policy domains. This article considers their application to research on sport and physical activity programmes. Applying a theory of change approach to the 'Calls for Action' programme, which seeks to increase participation among traditionally 'hard to reach' groups, the article explores the strengths and limitations of the method. It argues that a theory of change approach offers a rigorous and systematic way of framing and conducting research on interventions designed to encourage engagement in sport and other forms of physical activity. The article demonstrates how the approach can link project outcomes to wider programme and policy objectives. It also shows the value of making explicit and testing the assumptions which underpin interventions at both programme and project levels. By developing a theory of change approach policy makers and practitioners can clarify what they are seeking to achieve and promote a better understanding among partner organisations which have different priorities for and perspectives on an intervention. Future research could usefully focus on ways of extending the theory of change methods described in this article to test for causality and analyse the links between sport participation and wider policy goals, particularly health outcomes and improvements in well-being.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.