| Session Title: Making Contribution Analysis Work: The Benefits of Using Contribution Analysis in Public Sector Settings |
| Multipaper Session 935 to be held in Redondo on Saturday, Nov 5, 12:35 PM to 2:05 PM |
| Sponsored by the Program Theory and Theory-driven Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Steve Montague, Performance Management Network, steve.montague@pmn.net |
| Abstract: John Mayne's introduction of contribution analysis (CA) has attracted widespread attention within the global evaluation community. Yet, despite this vivid attention, as Mayne himself notes (2011), there haven't been a lot of published studies that involve the systematic application of contribution analysis. This begs a number of questions: How can we bridge the divide between the sustained interest in and actual application of CA? How can we make CA work? What are the actual benefits of CA? In this panel the aim is twofold. First, contributors to this debate will convene and discuss the similarities and differences of their practical implementation of contribution analysis - how to make contribution analysis work. Second, they will discuss the benefits of using contribution analysis. |
| Contribution Analysis: What is it? |
| Sebastian Lemire, Ramboll Management Consulting, setl@r-m.com |
| Steve Montague, Performance Management Network, steve.montague@pmn.net |
| Contribution analysis appears to have strong potential in the dynamic and complex environments typically faced in public enterprise. The first presentation briefly outlines the main steps and methodological tenets of contribution analysis. How is it done? How is it different from other approaches in theory-driven evaluation? What types of causal claims are supported by CA? The presentation will introduce some of the key challenges to making CA work in public sector settings. |
| The Participatory Approach to Contribution Analysis |
| Steve Montague, Performance Management Network, steve.montague@pmn.net |
| The use of a participatory approach to contribution analysis in the form of 'Results Planning' transforms CA into a 'generative' group learning (and at least partially inductive) process. The presentation will showcase a means of telling the performance story and an 'alternative' approach to the judging of evidence for attribution. The notion developed in this paper is that evidence is assed in terms of determining the attribution of impacts and effects as one would assess the evidence in a court case (see Patton 2008 for the suggested use of this concept for advocacy.). In situations of high complexity, the 'court' would be more akin to a civil trial - judging on the balance of evidence, as opposed to a criminal court, rendering a judgement beyond a reasonable doubt. |
| Engaging the Client Through Contribution Analysis: Reflections on Practical Experiences and Benefits |
| Line Dybdal, Ramboll Management Consulting, lind@r-m.com |
| Sebastian Lemire, Ramboll Management Consulting, setl@r-m.com |
| This presentation outlines the presenters' current use of and experiences with CA in the Danish public sector. In his concept of the "embedded theory of change" (2011) Mayne addresses the underlying assumptions and risks, external factors, and principal competing explanations embedded in the program being evaluated. This is a central step in CA, as one can only infer credible and, we would argue, useful contribution stories if the embedded theory of change accounts for other influencing factors and disproves alternative explanations. However, CA in its current manifestation is not very prescriptive about how to do this from a practical perspective. First, the presenters will discuss their experiences of embedding clients in the "embedded theory of change" by engaging clients in assembling and assessing the contribution story. Second, the presenters will engage in a discussion on the client benefits of engaging in contribution analysis. |