journal article Oct 02, 2019

Theories of Change in Rural Policy Evaluation

Sociologia Ruralis Vol. 60 No. 1 pp. 198-221 · Wiley
View at Publisher Save 10.1111/soru.12269
Abstract
AbstractRural policy evaluation helps to understand the extent to which policies have met pre‐defined objectives, achieve value for money and learn from implementation failures. However, there is increasing debate over the quality of policy evaluation and the extent to which its methods can fully contribute to an understanding of rural policy. Responding to these calls, this article employs a theory driven approach to policy evaluation to assess the social impacts of attempts to reduce animal disease on farms in England. Popular in other policy arenas, theory driven evaluation relies on developing a theory of change to examine the interactions between policy contexts and mechanisms and policy outcomes and determine what works for whom. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative and quantitative research, the article identifies two mechanisms of change to evaluate the Badger Vaccine Deployment Project (BVDP) in England to reduce incidence of bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle. The article shows how these mechanisms – ‘seeing is believing’ and ‘practice similarity’ – are triggered by different contextual factors leading to the failure to deliver expected policy outcomes. We also consider the advantages and limitations to theory based evaluation, and the contribution it can make to the evaluation of other rural development programmes.
Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References
70
[6]
Chen H. (1990)
[9]
Commission of the European Communities (CEC) (2003)
[12]
Dax T. "Altering the evaluation design for rural policies" European Structural and Investment Funds Journal (2014)
[13]
Defra (2009)
[16]
Dwyer J. "Comparing CAP rural development programmes: insights from policy design, delivery and context" Irish Rural Policy News (2010)
[21]
European Commission (2018)
[25]
Godfray C. (2018)
[27]
HC. (2010)Bovine Tuberculosis Vol. 515 Col. 45WS September 15th
[28]
HC. (2011)Bovine TB vol. 531 col. 816 19th July 2011
[34]
Hogan P. (2018)
[35]
Independent Scientific Group (ISG) (2007)
[44]
Mayne J. "Reporting on outcomes: setting performance expectations and telling performance stories" Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (2004) 10.3138/cjpe.019.002
[46]
Metlay D. "Institutional trust and confidence: a journey into a conceptual quagmire" Social Trust and the Management of Risk (1999)
[50]
Pawson R. (1997)

Showing 50 of 70 references

Cited By
11
Health Promotion International
Metrics
11
Citations
70
References
Details
Published
Oct 02, 2019
Vol/Issue
60(1)
Pages
198-221
License
View
Cite This Article
Damian Maye, Gareth Enticott, Rhiannon Naylor (2019). Theories of Change in Rural Policy Evaluation. Sociologia Ruralis, 60(1), 198-221. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12269