A Systemic ‘Theories of Change’ Approach for Projects and Change Initiatives in the Context of Quality Enhancement Activity in Higher Education

Abstract

Theories of Change (ToC) is an evaluation approach emerging in the context of community change initiatives in the USA (Connell and Kubisch 1998). It has since been used more widely in other countries and sectors, for example health (Sullivan et al. 2002; Barnes et al. 2003; Mackenzie and Blamey 2005; Sullivan and Stewart 2006; Breuer et al. 2016), education and higher education (Hart et al. 2009a, b; Levy 2012; Richards et al. 2016), community development (Archibald et al. 2016), crime (Hopkins and Wickson 2013), and agriculture (Mayne and Johnson 2015; Thornton et al. 2017).