Scaling ladders and stitching theory: navigating the challenges of a large scale realist evaluation in international development

This session reflects on a realist evaluation in progress: a three-year impact evaluation of the £13 million Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (BCURE) programme funded by the UK Department for International... [ view full abstract ]

This session reflects on a realist evaluation in progress: a three-year impact evaluation of the £13 million Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (BCURE) programme funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The BCURE programme consists of six linked projects spanning 11 countries in Africa and Asia, all aiming to increase the capacity of policy makers to use research more effectively through building the skills, incentives and systems required to access, appraise and apply evidence in decision making.

The session aims to offer the evaluation community insights into the challenges of a realist approach in international development, but also the value it can add by generating operationally relevant evidence on how and why change happens within complex environments. In the first year and a half of the evaluation, the team have grappled with a number of questions, some practical and others conceptual:

• How can we identify and prioritise realist context-mechanism-outcome configurations within a large scale, complex, multi-country intervention?
• How can we systematically analyse realist data and synthesise evidence from across multiple cases within the resources available for the evaluation?
• How can we recognise and encompass complexity in our evaluation design?
• How can we communicate effectively with international development donors and commissioners about realist evaluation methods and findings?
• How can we navigate the tensions between the theory-driven nature of realist evaluation, and the structures and incentives of the international development sector?

The session will reflect on the lessons learned and strategies developed to navigate these challenges during the first half of the evaluation.