| A mature theory breaking out |
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Program theory has evolved and been widely accepted to become a strategic tool, not only as a standalone theory but as an integral part of many modern and popular evaluation and strategy practices. We constantly try to push the approach to become a fundamental component for the strategy work of an initiative. We hope more and more developers understand the strengths of doing so. Donaldson points out how hard it is to involve necessary stakeholders in the process. we have experience of that too, but our recommendation is to talk about this work as the strategic tool rather than evaluation. Evaluation rarely gets enough attention in the beginning by stakeholders, so try to change the way you talk about the process in order to have them set aside necessary time to participate. We have been very successful with this, managing to get groups together even when stakeholders have been spread out all over the country. Read, reflect and continue the exchange of experience with us. |



Stewart I. Donaldson is one of the leading figures in the area of theory-driven evaluation. In this book from 2007 he presents several interesting cases where program theory has been used. The reason for this is that Donaldson believes that there is a need for more literature and cases around this mature theory. We definitely agree and hope that this book will contribute to have society developers, strategists and others to read about how this approach effectively empowers development projects.