Back to the future: Are we trapped in our past?

Fred Carden

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2023, vol. 97, issue C

Abstract: This paper is a reflection on how evaluators could approach theories of change through a foresight lens. It explores the role of assumptions and especially anticipatory assumptions in how we design our theories of change. It argues for a more open approach, a transdisciplinary approach to the multiple knowledges we bring to bear. It goes on to argue that if we do not build and use our imaginations to think differently about the future than the past, as evaluators we risk being trapped in findings and recommendations that assume continuity in a highly discontinuous world.

Keywords: Foresight; Assumptions; Anticipatory assumptions; Theory of change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:97:y:2023:i:c:s0149718923000411

DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2023.102264

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