2003
DOI: 10.1177/1035719x0300300106
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The politics of program logic

Abstract: This paper examines the use of program logic against the background of the politicised environment of evaluations. Its central argument is that the development of a program logic for the purpose of focusing an evaluation can be a highly politicised process, given that it requires sign-off by the ‘authorising environment’. We commence with a brief discussion of how politics surface within organisations because evaluation planning is typically conducted within these settings. A model of change management is then… Show more

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Cited by 5 publications
(3 citation statements)
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“…Weiss (1997a)a leading proponent of the techniquedescribed key challenges in theory-driven evaluation: program theory is notoriously difficult to construct and the level of granularity to which the evaluator must go is often uncertain; multiple theories are possibleoften requiring multiple sets of measurement indicators thus, the technique is resource and data intensive; and by focusing on the program theory, the evaluator may ignore many other important effects and causes (see also Shaw & Crompton, 2003). Others have noted that although program theory may provide focus to an evaluation, it provides a focal point of the evaluation (English & Kaleveld, 2003). Finally, it has been pointed out that in reality, few social science theories actually exist for the program areas that evaluators typically face, thus evaluator often begins with a grounded theory approach in developing program theory (Stufflebeam, 2001).…”
Section: Wwwijsrporgmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Weiss (1997a)a leading proponent of the techniquedescribed key challenges in theory-driven evaluation: program theory is notoriously difficult to construct and the level of granularity to which the evaluator must go is often uncertain; multiple theories are possibleoften requiring multiple sets of measurement indicators thus, the technique is resource and data intensive; and by focusing on the program theory, the evaluator may ignore many other important effects and causes (see also Shaw & Crompton, 2003). Others have noted that although program theory may provide focus to an evaluation, it provides a focal point of the evaluation (English & Kaleveld, 2003). Finally, it has been pointed out that in reality, few social science theories actually exist for the program areas that evaluators typically face, thus evaluator often begins with a grounded theory approach in developing program theory (Stufflebeam, 2001).…”
Section: Wwwijsrporgmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Program logic models are routinely applied across diverse settings and disciplines, including to operationalise multi-site school interventions (Holliday 2014), research programming (O'Keefe and Head 2011), public health promotion (Crosby and Noar 2011), conservation planning (Margoluis et al 2009), forensic treatment (Stinchcomb 2001) and organisational development and coaching (Oosthuizen and Louw 2013) as just some examples. Logic models offer a method to support agencies or work teams to develop a shared understanding of the program model, including its delivery and underpinning philosophies (English and Kaleveld 2003;McLaughlin and Jordan 2004). The models can also be used to describe the relationship between short-, medium-and longer-term outcomes (Julian 1997), thereby operationalising program evaluation (Cooksy et al 2001;Jordan 2013).…”
Section: Program Logic Modellingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Weiss (1997a)-a leading proponent of the technique-described key challenges in theory-driven evaluation: Program theory is notoriously difficult to construct and the level of granularity to which the evaluator must go is often uncertain; multiple theories are possible-often requiring multiple sets of measurement indicatorsthus, the technique is resource and data intensive; and by focusing on the program theory, the evaluator may ignore many other important effects and causes (see also Shaw & Crompton, 2003). Others have noted that although program theory may provide focus to an evaluation, it provides a focal point for politicization of the evaluation (English & Kaleveld, 2003). Finally, it has been pointed out that in reality, few social science theories actually exist for the program areas that evaluators typically face, thus the evaluator often begins with a grounded theory approach in developing program theory (Stufflebeam, 2001).…”
Section: Theory-driven Evaluationmentioning
confidence: 99%