Theories of Change in International Development: Communication, Learning or Accountability?

This paper provides a much needed analysis of how Theories of Change are used in the day-to-day practice of an international development organisation, The Asia Foundation. The Foundation uses the approach in three ways: to communicate, to learn and to be held accountable and each of these exist in some tension with the others. Creating Theories of Change was often found by programme staff to be a helpful process, since it provided greater freedom to explain and analyse programme interventions. However, the introduction of the approach also produced some troubling effects, for example, by creating top-down accounts of change which spoke more to donor interests than to the ground realities of people affected by these interventions. Ultimately, this paper argues that while a Theory of Change approach can create space for critical reflection, it requires a much broader commitment to learning from individuals, organisations, and the development sector itself.