Contribution analysis: Theoretical and practical challenges and prospects for evaluators

Abstract

Contribution analysis (CA) is a theory-based approach that has become widely used in recent years to conduct defensible evaluations of interventions for which determining attribution using existing methodologies can be problematic. Tis critical review of the literature explores contribution analysis in detail, discussing its methods, the evolution in its epistemological underpinnings to establishing causality, and some methodological challenges that are presented when CA is applied in practice. Te study highlights potential adaptations to CA that can improve rigour, and describes areas where further work can strengthen this useful evaluation approach.