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Based on a keynote speech at the PCE 2022 conference, this paper responds to the conference theme "How can I be of help?" from the perspective of person-centered therapy. I focus on the kind of help (i.e. the kind of change, or outcome) that clients can expect when participating in person-centered therapy through the lens of "congruent functioning", a contemporary reframing of Rogers' concept of the fully functioning person. This model of congruent functioning was developed from an ongoing research program originally focused on the study of a brief self-report instrument, the Strathclyde Inventory (SI). In this paper, I report findings from this program, including a theoretically coherent hierarchical relationship between SI items identified from the pattern of clients' scoring that may indicate a hypothetical pathway for the development of congruent functioning. I present three different types of supporting evidence for the congruent functioning model, highlighting potential cultural differences, and a case example that considers apparent deterioration in congruent functioning by the end of therapy. Finally, I argue that the model of congruent functioning resonates not only with Rogers' theory concerning the change process underpinning person-centered therapy, but also supports the ongoing commitment to personal development required of person-centered therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

V.M. Fedorov has published comments regarding my paper on the new astronomical theory of climate change developed by us and the appendix to it. In this paper, I disagree with his objections and briefly substantiate my disagreement. The new theory is based on solving problems of the evolution of orbital and rotational motions of the Earth under the influence of the Sun, planets, and the Moon. All components of the theory have been published, and the methods, programs, and calculation data are freely available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note summarises our replication study 'Housing, Health, and Happiness', henceforth HHH2009, which constitutes an important paper in the literature of housing and slum upgrading. The original authors conduct a quasi-experimental impact evaluation of 'Piso Firme', an intervention that replaced in-house dirt floors with cement in Mexico. We conduct a Pure Replication (PR), a Measurement and Estimation Analysis (MEA), and a Theory of Change Analysis (TCA). In our PR, we did not find any major discrepancy with the original study. In the MEA, we generally find the results to be strongly robust to different types of alternative analysis. Finally, in TCA we explore a dimension that was not reported on the published version of the study and found that households with high initial levels of cement-floor coverage benefitted significantly less from Piso Firme's intervention. These findings are discussed in greater detail on International Initiative for Impact Evaluation's (3ie) working paper version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A proportion of veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has shown reduced effectiveness of commonly offered psychotherapies in military personnel. Some research suggested the usefulness of art therapy for veterans with PTSD, but its mechanism of operation has been unclear. The current project aimed to establish participants' perceptions of any impact of group art therapy and some of the perceived mechanisms of change.Method: In a grounded theory design, single semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine veterans who had received group art therapy, two art therapists, and a veteran's wife. Interviews were transcribed and analysed.Findings: Theorised categories included (a) art therapy group as "the family", (b) "the gentle conductor", (c) trust, (d) doing the work, (e) art therapy as "a communication tool", (f) "points of recognition", (g) "making things concrete", and (h) "not a cure".Limitations: Shortcomings included a homogenous sample who all attended art therapy alongside other interventions, reliance on subjective and unmeasured symptom change, and researcher effects related to qualitative methodology.Conclusion: The developed grounded theory is consistent with existing evidence and neuropsychological theory. Group art therapy may enable some veterans to prepare for verbal-only therapy, by offering a safe space in which to approach non-verbal traumatic and trauma-related contextual material in a controlled way. Artworks may provide a bridge to facilitate communication of experiences within subsequent verbal therapy and with loved-ones. It is suggested to replicate the project at different sites. Elements of the developed theory may be investigated further to establish its transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meeting of the Linnean Society of London held on the evening of 1 July 1858 is famous for being the occasion of the first public announcement of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This declaration was completed by publication of On the Origin of Species in the following year. The present analysis rebuffs this interpretation, in that the material read and subsequently published did not promote a theory of evolution, let alone the Origin theory. It did promote natural selection, a theory of organic change; however, a theory of evolution requires, in addition, a theory of how both the organic and physical components of the world behave and interact (i.e. a world-view theory). A first announcement of a theory of evolution also requires some promotion of the likelihood that new species will result. The Origin world view and species transmutation as an outcome are both largely absent from the contributions. Hence, Bell's much maligned Presidential address might need re-assessment. Curiously, the published title almost denies species transmutation. The present paper undertakes detailed inspection of this meeting; it supports a re-assessment of its customary interpretation in the history of biological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: DETERMIND (DETERMinants of quality of life, care and costs, and consequences of INequalities in people with Dementia and their carers) is designed to address fundamental, and, as yet unanswered questions about inequalities, outcomes and costs following diagnosis with dementia. These answers are needed to improve the quality of care and equity of access to care, and therefore the quality of life, of people with dementia and their carers.Method: DETERMIND is a programme of research consisting of seven complementary workstreams (WS) exploring various components that may result in unequal dementia care: WS1: Recruitment and follow-up of the DETERMIND cohort-900 people with dementia and their carers from three geographically and socially diverse sites within six months following diagnosis, and follow them up for three years. WS2: Investigation of the extent of inequalities in access to dementia care. WS3: Relationship between use and costs of services and outcomes. WS4: Experiences of self-funders of care. WS5: Decision-making processes for people with dementia and carers. WS6: Effect of diagnostic stage and services on outcomes. WS7: Theory of Change informed strategy and actions for applying the research findings.Outcomes: During the life of the programme, analysing baseline results and then follow-up of the DETERMIND cohort over 3 years, we will establish evidence on current services and practice. DETERMIND will deliver novel, detailed data on inequalities in dementia care and what drives positive and negative outcomes and costs for people with dementia and carers, and identify factors that help or hinder living well with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There remain a number of debates and conflicts about the concept of rewilding which can be barriers to its application. Some of these conflicts stem from the variety of contextual interpretations of rewilding, leading to conflict between rewilding theories and approaches. Conclusions have also been drawn about rewilding based on limited case studies, so that emergent rewilding theories aren't applicable to all rewilding projects, limiting their support in the field. Past theories have distinguished different types of rewilding, encouraging debate over the proposed methods, although in practice these approaches often share similar goals and use similar interventions. One barrier to achieving consensus in the practice of rewilding is that there are no clear guidelines for rewilding, and there are limited broad-scale studies focusing on how rewilding is practiced. This paper addresses this by offering the first broad study of rewilding guidelines and interventions. Methods: A grounded theory study was undertaken, using data sourced from rewilding organisations, case studies, and research. Expressions were coded in the data relating to intentions for how rewilding should be practiced and the interventions used. Results: Drawing from these data, the paper offers three tools to guide rewilding practitioners: (1) an overview of guidelines for rewilding practice, (2) a list of interventions used in rewilding, considering them against rewilding goals, (3) a theory of change framework to guide rewilding application. Discussion: The tools presented here will inform work towards IUCN rewilding guidelines. Several areas that require further consideration are highlighted. We hope that this initial study of application can improve agreement and collaboration among the rewilding community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper introduces a conceptual lens for leading social change in slums and informal settlements. In line with this aim, the purpose of this case study is to describe the public problem-solving approach of a social change organization situated in an informal settlement through the lens of adaptive leadership, complexity theory and social change leadership (SCL). Design/methodology/approach: This paper follows an engaged reflection tradition. First, the author-practitioners describe an informal settlement case hereafter called ISC in southeast Iran where many people have historically remained undocumented and uneducated. Using complex adaptive systems theory, adaptive leadership and SCL as the conceptual lens, the paper analyzes ISC as a complex adaptive context in which the community and the government are in tension in solving problems, particularly illiteracy. The instrumental case study draws from participant observation and document analysis to describe and examine the endeavors of a community office operating within ISC. Through this reflective analysis, the authors illustrate how a social change organization can effectively tackle public issues like illiteracy within informal settlements. Findings: This paper applies complexity leadership theory to a social context. The study illustrates how social change organizations can support the transformation of informal spaces into adaptive spaces to enact social change. Originality/value: This paper reflects on engagement activity near the insecure borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. By extending an organizational-level theory to the public sphere, this paper contributes theoretically to the complexity theory literature. Moreover, it provides a practical insight for community development and slum upgrading projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of steadily declining Natural Capital and universal recognition of the imperative to reverse this trend before we get to the point that nature is not able to restore itself, cities have a crucial role to play. The UK Government commissioned a comprehensive study into the value of biodiversity, and by extension nature, reinforcing “why we should change our ways”—yet what is missing is the “how?”. This paper uniquely describes both the “how?” and a conclusive demonstration of the remarkable benefits of implementing it in a city. Critical to this process, it took a UK Parliamentary Inquiry to reveal that nature has become invisible within the economy, yet the ecological ecosystem services nature provides have enormous benefits to both people and the economy. Therefore integration—or seamless weaving—of urban greenspace and nature into people's lives and the places where they live, work, and spend their leisure time is vital. Moreover, what nature does not provide must be provided by engineered systems, and these have an economic cost; put another way, there are enormous cost savings to be made by taking advantage of what nature provides. In addressing these issues, this paper is the definitive paper from a 20-year portfolio of research on how to bring about transformative change in the complex system-of-systems that make up our cities, providing as it does the crucial in-depth research into the many diverse strands of governance—the last link in a chain of the creation, testing and proof of efficacy of methodologies underpinning a theory and practice of change for infrastructure and cities. The impact of this portfolio of research on Birmingham is two-fold: the Star Framework that placed natural environment considerations at the heart of all decision-making in the city, and the successful bid for the largest of the UK Future Parks Accelerator awards. While both are transformative in their different ways, yet mutually supportive, the latter enabled the design of a suite of system interventions from which the value of Birmingham's greenspaces is estimated to rise from £11.0 billion to £14.4 billion—a remarkable return on investment from the research's conceptualization of Birmingham's urban greenspace as a “business” (with its associated business models). In achieving this, the necessary enablers of thinking and practicing systemically, seamlessly working across disciplinary boundaries, an unusually strong focus on both the aspirations of all stakeholders and the context in question to define “the problem,” and the testing of proposed system intervention(s) both now and in the future have been iteratively combined. However, it is the critical enabling steps of identifying the complete range of value-generating opportunities that the interventions offer, formulating them into alternative business models to underpin the case for change and ensuring that they are synergistic with all the dimensions of governance that yielded the profound outcomes sought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the theory of change model (Kotter in Harv Bus Rev 2:59–67, 1995; Moore et al. in Viet Nam J Public Health 1(1):66–75, 2013) to describe the pathway that lead to Australia's first pill testing/drug checking services in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The paper takes each step of the model and illustrates the key activities that largely occurred over an approximately 24 month period resulting in the service being operational on 29 April 2018. The paper demonstrates that leadership, advocacy and activism are key components, alongside evidence, to bringing about public policy change. It provides a unique insight to the extensive efforts undertaken to achieving the first legally sanctioned pill testing at festivals in Australia and provides a positive case study for those seeking to introduce contested harm reduction services in the drug and alcohol field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory of Change was created as a logic planning model to explore and represent a potential change in a way that reflects a complex and systemic understanding of development. Even though it is a familiar tool in the context of community initiatives and philanthropic projects, Theory of Change is under‐applied in design as a problem‐solving practice and underexplored within design research. Design projects that are looking for more comprehensive ways of negotiating change can greatly benefit from it to inform a deep understanding of the dynamics of change. This paper focuses on how a designerly approach to Theory of Change can support participatory visual mapping, thus creating some enabling conditions towards transformation in cities, namely: facilitating more granular communication, suggesting a multifaceted and systemic perspective, helping to navigate complexity by creating shared mental models among stakeholders, fostering thinking through different temporalities, and boosting creativity. The paper will examine a case of an urban transformation project that involves six European cities under regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to propose a new comprehensive retirement insurance solution (CRIS) that, by offering appropriate modules, can be flexibly adapted to customers' needs during the accumulation of funds and entitlements and during retirement. Technically, the product is life-insurance-based and includes insurance for sickness and in-capacity, long-term care (LTC), work activation expenses, hospital stays, and tontine and Luxembourg policies. Due to consumers' changing expectations and needs, the technical dimension of this solution is based on a three-layer insurance product in which individual parts of the protection are supplemented by several additional benefits (types of assistance) that improve the quality of life of insurance participants and allow the ongoing use of the product. The basis for considering such a new insurance product is the theory of change (ToC), which makes it possible to build considerable flexibility into such a solution. A SWOT analysis was used to position the proposed solution in relation to other insurance products and social security offered by the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the "deflationary" line of criticism that had been raised against the theory of event presented in Alain Badiou's Being and Event. This line of criticism questions the Badiouian claim to have provided a theorization of radical novelty and change, suggesting that events and their consequences may be more banal than is assumed by the account of change based on truths, elaborated in Badiou's great ontological treatise. Advancing a version of deflationary criticism, this paper proposes that there are important matters left unclear in the settheoretical ontology of Badiou's magnum opus that become particularly relevant when the categories such as void, event, and truth are deployed in analyses of specific and concrete extra-ontological situations. Exploiting some of those ambiguities, it will be argued that the theorization of change due to post-evental truths in Being and Event does not adequately establish the universality of the truths that, for Badiou, must commence with events. This is problematic for the Badiouian account of change because universality, or what Badiou's ontological discourse terms "genericity," is the property of truths that is supposed to ensure their transformative potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality carbon information disclosure is required with the development of China's national carbon emission trading market. It is still controversial what factors influence carbon information disclosure quality in China's power industry. This paper involved four factors: government regulation, media reports, enterprise size, and directors' professional backgrounds based on strategic change theory. The carbon information disclosure quality was measured using the analytic hierarchy process (APH) and entropy weight method (EWM). Then, panel data regression was used to analyze the relationship between the factors and carbon information disclosure quality. The results showed that (1) the quantity of media reports has no significant correlation with carbon information disclosure quality. (2) The proportion of directors with legal backgrounds to all directors is significantly and negatively correlated with carbon information disclosure quality. (3) Government regulation, the media value orientation, enterprise size, and the proportion of directors with accounting backgrounds to all directors are significantly and positively related to the carbon information disclosure quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative theory in translation studies has been mostly used to examine how translators mediate and refract meaning as they contribute to circulating political agendas across contexts and audiences. Building on this heritage but extending narrative theory beyond cross-language analysis, this paper proposes an ethnonarrative methodology to enquire and write about contemporary activist networks. It provides an epistemological-theoretical framework to explore identity, action and space in prefigurative transnational social movements, and a set of narrative methods and analytical techniques to conduct an ethnography of communication. Drawing on my on-site and online ethnography of Babels, the international network of volunteer interpreters, the paper first discusses the ethical and political questions raised by my practice in, and by my writing about Babels, in the interdisciplinary context of social movement studies and interpreting studies in the first decade of the 21st century. It then exposes the ethnonarrative methodology developed in this context and illustrates its use through a detailed narrative account of how Babels constructed and negotiated its financial structure in and out of Babels.org. Finally, it discusses the extension of the methodology beyond 2.0 (so called participatory) web, as activist networks increasingly communicate through social media and videoconferencing platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges, interplay and potential directions for future service research to address the first three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of no poverty, zero hunger and good health and well-being. Design/methodology/approach: This commentary examines how service research has addressed these SDGs in the literature, and through the development of a theory of change, the authors propose an agenda for service research going beyond serving, to enabling and transforming service systems, expanding the current focus on individual to community and population well-being through promotion and prevention. Findings: Service research has increasingly advocated human-centered approaches but requires a shift towards an all of humanity perspective. Individual and collective well-being have gained attention in service research, emphasizing the importance of considering collective well-being. Research limitations/implications: The commentary underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to develop services that contribute to the well-being of the human species. It calls for research that transcends dyadic interactions, considers systemic dynamics and broadens the focus from individual to collective and population well-being. Social implications: This paper discusses important societal issues of poverty, hunger and good health and well-being and the need for integrated and ecosystem approaches to develop equitable and sustainable solutions for collective well-being. Originality/value: While SDGs 1, 2 and 3 address individual goals, they collectively underpin the well-being of communities and societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) was established by several United Nations organizations to provide scientific advice on One Health issues. The panel consists of experts from around the world with diverse expertise in animal, human, and environmental health. OHHLEP's main focus is on reducing the risk of zoonotic diseases, and they provide scientific assessments, research and policy advice, and recommendations on specific issues. They have developed a Theory of Change for One Health, created an inventory of resources, initiated the development of a surveillance system, and published a white paper on preventing zoonotic spillover. OHHLEP collaborates with other global One Health initiatives and will continue to advise the United Nations organizations in their second term. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this study was to determine the real share of the morphological components of the municipal waste generated in the municipal systems in Poland (all municipal waste collected from the communes). So far, the analysis of the morphological composition of municipal waste has not involved all of the waste streams. In addition, it is necessary to use factors for correcting estimates of waste mass to prevent false increases in the mass of certain groups of waste. Determining the real morphological composition of municipal waste is necessary for proper calculation of the levels of readiness for the re-use and recycling of municipal waste. This study shows that bio-waste accounted for the largest mass share of 28.68%, followed by paper, glass, and plastic, constituting 10.78%, 10.59%, and 10.29%, respectively. This study reveals the proportion of the rubble and mineral fractions is 6.60% in total; however, these fractions should not be found in municipal waste, according to the given definition of this waste and the indicated codes for municipal waste. The content of <10 mm and 10-20 mm fractions was high, amounting for a total of 11.60%. The <20 mm fine fraction contained, among other components, glass, earth, bio-waste, plastics, ceramics, and small stones. The following conditions contributed to the high share of the fine fraction: the crumbling of various groups of waste, the time of storage at the place of production, incorrect separate collection of waste by primary producers, and the means by which it was transported to waste treatment plants. This causes the morphological composition of the generated waste to differ from that of the waste supplied for treatment. For this reason and others, it is necessary to change the methodology for determining the morphological composition of municipal waste generated in the Polish municipal systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This special feature concerns understanding human‐nature relations through the lens of values to comprehend how values of the natural world connect with wider processes of change, action and transformation in social‐ecological systems.The relationships between values and action have preoccupied several disciplines and multiple discourses concerned with implementing change, including sustainability and health, and conservation.Focusing on the conceptual underpinnings of how values, action and change are generally understood, this paper proposes an alternate view informed by more‐than‐human thinking and theories of social practices. In doing so, it aims to closely scrutinise the relationship between values and actions in the context of creating transformative change.In highlighting this relationship and presenting some different ways to understand it, the paper aims to contribute to deepening understanding of how to relate to, value and act for nature and how this might be encouraged.One of the most common pathways assumed to generate action is based on the idea that action is driven by values, and that in order to change action, we therefore need to change values. The paper questions the assumed relationship between values and actions and its direction, and instead posits that beginning with actions is a more productive place to start.To work through these ideas, I introduce more‐than‐human theories, focusing on theories of social practice, to discuss how these theories can change how values and actions are conceptualised, how the relationships between them can be understood, and what these ideas can mean for rethinking how to achieve social‐ecological change. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex and gender are inadequately considered in health and medical research, policy and practice, leading to preventable disparities in health and wellbeing. Several global institutions, journals, and funding bodies have developed policies and guidelines to improve the inclusion of diverse participants and consideration of sex and gender in research design and reporting and the delivery of clinical care. However, according to recent evaluations, these policies have had limited impact on the inclusion of diverse research participants, adequate reporting of sex and gender data and reducing preventable inequities in access to, and quality provision of, healthcare. In Australia, the Sex and Gender Policies in Medical Research (SGPMR) project aims to address sex and gender bias in health and medical research by (i) examining how sex and gender are currently considered in Australian research policy and practice; (ii) working with stakeholders to develop policy interventions; and (iii) understanding the wider impacts, including economic, of improved sex and gender consideration in Australian health and medical research. In this paper we describe the development of a theory of change (ToC) for the SGPMR project. The ToC evolved from a two-stage process consisting of key stakeholder interviews and a consultation event. The ToC aims to identify the pathways to impact from improved consideration of sex and gender in health and medical research, policy and practice, and highlight how key activities and policy levers can lead to improvements in clinical practice and health outcomes. In describing the development of the ToC, we present an entirely novel framework for outlining how sex and gender can be appropriately considered within the confines of health and medical research, policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper traces financial and non-financial variables that prompt external debt distress in Pakistan. It explains that the economic vulnerability emanates from macroeconomic imbalances and structural problems. The macroeconomic imbalances deeply connect with global oil crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war and non-compliance with mutually agreed International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities in the short run. However, the structural reasons are rising oil expenses, growing domestic political scandals, increasing terrorist attacks, and high spending on military imports. The paper recommends formulating a publicly available blueprint i.e. theory of change to resolve Pakistan's increased reliance on transnational lenders, including the IMF. It should include innovative policies to initiate the green revolution that could replace intermittent nonrenewable resources to incrementally lower oil imports. Moreover, to increase growth in the non-military sector employing non-kinetic means and engaging transnational governance entities to resolve geopolitical conflicts would reduce reliance on military sector. The paper concludes that undergoing policy innovation for environmental and economic sustainability, is inevitable for gaining benefits from global renewable energy transition and avoiding debt distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable financing of protected areas (PA) is a worldwide challenge and a barrier to the effective management of over 15% of global land area (Protected Planet, 2021). The purpose of the paper is to outline one approach that has been used to address the challenge of the sustainable financing of the publicly managed terrestrial PA estate in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Also, PA practitioners internationally may find the case study useful in addressing the challenge of insuf- ficient funding for PAs under their care and control. The paper provides the Theory of Change (ToC) as a mechanism for the sustainable financing of the PA estate in NSW, identifying six pathways to change: government support, institutional effectiveness, appropriate business model, strategic planning and innovation, communication and advocacy, and collaboration and partnerships. It demonstrates how the success of each pathway depends on a suite of enabling conditions that help to dismantle the impediments to the sustainable financing of the PA estate. The ToC is intended to guide actions to address the sustainable financing of the PA estate and to achieve the overall impact of the effective management of PAs with respect to conservation and other aligned objectives. The ToC presented in the paper is focused on NSW, however it considers policy and management implications and lessons from the case study that can be applied to PAs in an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the principal ideas from Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theory of psychosis. According to Lacan's theory in the 1950s, the central organizing element of symbolically organized mental life, the Name-of-the-Father, is missing in psychosis. That theory changes with later conceptual developments in Lacan's work that focus on the incompleteness of symbolic functioning. This connects with how, in his works from the late 1960s and the 1970s, Lacan embraces the idea of a fundamental non-rapport and symbolic non-existence at the basis of mental life. In a second step, the paper explores what the Lacanian model of psychosis implies with regard to ethical positioning, addressing the unconscious, handling transference, and crisis and stability in psychosis. A clinical case discussion focuses on a yearlong therapeutic trajectory with a young man with Down's syndrome who suffered from psychotic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a novel approach called Outcome Trajectory Evaluation (OTE) in response to the long-causal-chain problem confronting the evaluation of research for development (R4D) projects. OTE strives to tackle four issues resulting from the common practice of evaluating R4D projects based on theory of change developed at the start. The approach was developed iteratively while conducting four evaluations of policy-related outcomes claimed by the CGIAR, a global R4D organization. The first step is to use a middle-range theory (MRT), based on "grand" social science theory, to help delineate and understand the trajectory that generated the set of outcomes being evaluated. The second step is to then identify project contribution to that trajectory. Other types of theory-driven evaluation are single step: they model how projects achieve outcomes without first considering the overarching causal mechanism—the outcome trajectory—from which the outcomes emerged. The use of an MRT allowed us to accrue learning from one evaluation to the next. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug abuse constitutes a significant societal and health challenge in the Republic of North Macedonia, the broader region, and globally. The detrimental consequences, stemming from both direct and indirect effects, profoundly impacted individuals, families, and society, extending to jeopardizing state security. The paper aimed to scrutinize the implementation of the criminal legislation of the Republic of North Macedonia concerning the prevention and detection of criminality involving narcotic substances (drugs) and the penalization of offenders engaged in illegal trafficking and unauthorized production of drugs. Employing the theory of change, which centered on identifying realistic positive transformations in the short and long term, coupled with applying the statistical method, the paper offered an overview of the number of criminal offenses. This overview was based on the official statistical data the Ministry of Internal Affairs provided for 2017 to 2022. Subsequently, the paper extended its focus to international cooperation, engaging in a comprehensive discussion on preventing and detecting criminality involving narcotic substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While throughout modern history it has been shown how thoroughly biological discourses were shaped by conceptions originating in the theory and praxis of breeding, for the medieval period similar studies are mostly absent. This paper offers a symmetrical history of theory and praxis of breeding by asking to what extent they shaped medieval conceptions of human 'race' and 'ancestry' in Europe. For scholarly knowledge of breeding, the analysis relies on Albertus Magnus' extensive Aristotelian work De animalibus. For the practical knowledge of the breeders, scattered indications from the secondary literature are compiled and promising primary sources are outlined for further research. The paper finds that various concepts and practices whose origins are commonly placed in the early modern period were already present in the Middle Ages, including the concept of reproductive heredity and the view that creation diversified over time through reproductive ancestry. Breeding practices, thus, existed before the rise of genetics in modern biology. The medieval conceptions of 'race' and 'ancestry' underwent conceptual transfers from the non-human into the human sphere, collapsing the qualitative distinction of the two spheres into one quantitively graded overarching image of nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replication is an important tool to promote high quality research and ensure policy makers can rely on studies in making guidelines or funding programs. By ensuring influential studies are replicable we provide assurance that the policies based on these studies are well-founded and the conclusions and recommendations are robust--to different estimation models or different choices. In this paper, we argue that replication is not only useful but necessary to ensure that an author's choice in how to analyse data is not the only factor that determines whether an intervention is effective or not. We also show that while most research is done well and provides robust results, small differences can lead to different interpretations and these differences need to be acknowledged. This special issue highlights 5 such replication studies, which are replications of influential studies on biomedical, social, behavioural and structural interventions for HIV prevention and treatment. We reflect on their findings. Four out of five studies, which conduct push button replication and pure replication, were able to reproduce the results of the original studies with minor differences, mainly due to minor typographical errors or rounding differences. The analysis of the measurement and estimation analyses conducted in these five studies reveals that the original results are not very robust to alternative analytical approaches, especially when these results rely on a small number of observations. In these cases, the original results are weakened. Furthermore, in contrast to the original papers, two of the five included replication studies conducted a theory of change analysis--to explore how or why the interventions work (or do not) not just whether the intervention works or not. These two analyses indicate that the estimated impacts of the interventions are drawn from few mediators. In addition, they demonstrate that, in some cases, a lack of effect may be related to lack of adequate exposure to the intervention rather than inefficacy of the intervention per se. However, overall, the included replication studies show that the results presented in the original papers are trustworthy and robust, especially when based on larger sample sizes. Replication studies can not only verify the results of a study, they can also provide additional insights on the published results, such as how and why an intervention was effective or less effective than expected. They can thus be a tool to inform the research community and/ or policymakers about whether and how interventions could be adopted, which need to be tested further, and which should be discontinued because of their ineffectiveness. Thus, publishing these replication studies in peer-reviewed journals makes the work public and publicized. The work advances knowledge, and publication should be encouraged, as it is for other types of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the context of the work and achievements of James Croll, this paper reviews the records of direct observations of glacial landforms and sediments made by Charles Lyell, Archibald and James Geikie and James Croll himself, in order to evaluate their contributions to the sciences of glacial geology and Quaternary environmental change. The paper outlines the social and physical environment of Croll's youth and contrasts this with the status and experiences of Lyell and the Geikies. It also outlines the character and role of the 'Glasgow School' of geologists, who stimulated Croll's interest into the causes of climate change and directed his focus to the glacial and 'interglacial' deposits of central Scotland. Contributions are outlined in chronological order, drawing attention to: (i) Lyell's high-quality observations and interpretations of glacial features in Glen Clova and Strathmore and his subsequent rejection of the glacial theory in favour of processes attributed to floating icebergs; (ii) the significant impact of Archibald Geikie's 1863 paper on the 'glacial drift of Scotland', which firmly established the land-ice theory; (iii) the fact that, despite James Croll's inherent dislike of geology and fieldwork, he provided high-quality descriptions and interpretations of the landforms and sediments of central Scotland in order to test his theory of climate change; and (iv) the great communication skills of James Geikie, enhanced by contacts and evidence from around the world. It is concluded that whilst direct observations of glacial landforms and sediments were critical to the long-term development of the study of glaciation, the acceptance of this theory was dependent also upon the skills, personality and status of the Geikies and Croll, who developed and promoted the concepts. Sadly, the subsequent rejection of the land-ice concept by Lyell resulted in the same factors challenging the acceptance of the glacial theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dental caries (tooth decay) in children is a national public health problem with impacts on the child, their family and wider society. Toothbrushing should commence from the eruption of the first primary tooth. Health visitors are a key provider of advice for parents in infancy and are ideally placed to support families to adopt optimal oral health habits. HABIT is a co-designed complex behaviour change intervention to support health visitors' oral health conversations with parents during the 9-12-month universal developmental home visit.Methods: A seven stage co-design process was undertaken: (1) Preparatory meetings with healthcare professionals and collation of examples of good practice, (2) Co-design workshops with parents and health visitors, (3) Resource development and expert/peer review, (4) Development of an intervention protocol for health visitors, (5) Early-phase testing of the resources to explore acceptability, feasibility, impact and mechanism of action, (6) Engagement with wider stakeholders and refinement of the HABIT intervention for wider use, (7) Verification, Review and Reflection of Resources.Results: Following preparatory meetings with stakeholders, interviews and co-design workshops with parents and health visitors, topic areas and messages were developed covering six key themes. The topic areas provided a structure for the oral health conversation and supportive resources in paper-based and digital formats. A five-step protocol was developed with health visitors to guide the oral health conversation during the 9-12 month visit. Following training of health visitors, an early-phase feasibility study was undertaken with preliminary results presented at a dissemination event where feedback for further refinement of the resources and training was gathered. The findings, feedback and verification have led to further refinements to optimise quality, accessibility, fidelity and behaviour change theory.Conclusion: The co-design methods ensured the oral health conversation and supporting resources used during the 9-12 month visit incorporated the opinions of families and Health Visitors as well as other key stakeholders throughout the development process. This paper provides key learning and a framework that can be applied to other healthcare settings. The structured pragmatic approach ensured that the intervention was evidence-based, acceptable and feasible for the required context.Trial Registration: ISRCTN55332414, Registration Date 11/11/2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stakeholder engagement is essential to the design, implementation and evaluation of complex mental health interventions like peer support. Theory of Change (ToC) is commonly used in global health research to help structure and promote stakeholder engagement throughout the project cycle. Stakeholder insights are especially important in the context of a multi-site trial, in which an intervention may need to be adapted for implementation across very different settings while maintaining fidelity to a core model. This paper describes the development of a ToC for a peer support intervention to be delivered to people with severe mental health conditions in five countries as part of the UPSIDES trial. Methods: One hundred thirty-four stakeholders from diverse backgrounds participated in a total of 17 workshops carried out at six UPSIDES implementing sites across high-, middle- and low-income settings (one site each in India, Israel, Uganda and Tanzania; two sites in Germany). The initial ToC maps created by stakeholders at each site were integrated into a cross-site ToC map, which was then revised to incorporate additional insights from the academic literature and updated iteratively through multiple rounds of feedback provided by the implementers. Results: The final ToC map divides the implementation of the UPSIDES peer support intervention into three main stages: preparation, implementation, and sustainability. The map also identifies three levels of actors involved in peer support: individuals (service users and peer support workers), organisations (and their staff members), and the public. In the UPSIDES trial, the ToC map proved especially helpful in characterising and distinguishing between (a) common features of peer support, (b) shared approaches to implementation and (c) informing adaptations to peer support or implementation to account for contextual differences. Conclusions: UPSIDES is the first project to develop a multi-national ToC for a mental health peer support intervention. Stakeholder engagement in the ToC process helped to improve the cultural and contextual appropriateness of a complex intervention and ensure equivalence across sites for the purposes of a multi-site trial. It may serve as a blueprint for implementing similar interventions with a focus on recovery and social inclusion among people with mental ill-health across diverse settings. Trial registration: ISRCTN26008944 (Registration Date: 30/10/2019). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduate education in engineering is an extremely challenging, complex entity that is difficult to change. The purpose of this exploratory research paper was to investigate the applicability of the Collective Impact framework, which has been used within community organizing contexts, to organize the change efforts of a center focused on advancing equitable graduate education within engineering. We sought to understand how the conditions of Collective Impact (i.e., common agenda, backbone organization, mutually reinforcing activities, shared measurement system, and continuous communication) could facilitate the organization of equity-focused change efforts across a college of engineering at a single institution. To achieve this, we took an action research approach. We found the Collective Impact framework to be a useful tool for organizing cross-sectional partnerships to facilitate equity-focused change in graduate education; we also found the five conditions of Collective Impact to be applicable to the higher education context, with some intentional considerations and modifications. Through coordinated efforts, the Collective Impact framework can support the goal of reorienting existing decentralized structures, resource flows, and decision processes to foster bottom-up and top-down change processes to advance equitable support for graduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explain and update Kurt Lewin's concept of topological psychology and show how it can improve how we think about and undertake organizational change. To illustrate the use of this concept, we have created an imaginary dialogue in which Lewin helps an organization to move from fixed- to hot-desking. In this dialogue, we draw on Lewin's writings to show how he might have responded to criticisms of his work (e.g., that his diagnostic approach is too mechanistic to work in a socially constructed world). Based on our discussion of topological psychology, we offer three recommendations to better connect theory building with managerial thinking: (1) use plain language to explain your concepts; (2) use drawings to illustrate and explain the change situation; and (3) focus on the exceptions and not the rules in order to generate a better understanding of the nature of organizational life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates how two different methods used to calculate population-level mobility from Call Detail Records (CDR) produce varying predictions of the spread of epidemics informed by these data. Our findings are based on one CDR dataset describing inter-district movement in Ghana in 2021, produced using two different aggregation methodologies. One methodology, "all pairs," is designed to retain long distance network connections while the other, "sequential" methodology is designed to accurately reflect the volume of travel between locations. We show how the choice of methodology feeds through models of human mobility to the predictions of a metapopulation SEIR model of disease transmission. We also show that this impact varies depending on the location of pathogen introduction and the transmissibility of infections. For central locations or highly transmissible diseases, we do not observe significant differences between aggregation methodologies on the predicted spread of disease. For less transmissible diseases or those introduced into remote locations, we find that the choice of aggregation methodology influences the speed of spatial spread as well as the size of the peak number of infections in individual districts. Our findings can help researchers and users of epidemiological models to understand how methodological choices at the level of model inputs may influence the results of models of infectious disease transmission, as well as the circumstances in which these choices do not alter model predictions. Author summary: Predicting the sub-national spread of infectious disease requires accurate measurements of inter-regional travel networks. Often, this information is derived from the patterns of mobile device connections to the cellular network. This travel data is then used as an input to epidemiological models of infection transmission, defining the likelihood that disease is "exported" between regions. In this paper, we use one mobile device dataset collected in Ghana in 2021, aggregated according to two different methodologies which represent different aspects of inter-regional travel. We show how the choice of aggregation methodology leads to different predicted epidemics, and highlight the conditions under which models of infection transmission may be influenced by methodological choices in the aggregation of travel data used to parameterize these models. For example, we show how aggregation methodology changes predicted epidemics for less-transmissible infections and under certain models of human movement. We also highlight areas of relative stability, where aggregation choices do not alter predicted epidemics, such as cases where an infection is highly transmissible or is introduced into a central location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although frequently perceived as a 'woolly' policy concept and a means to reduce public service delivery costs, co-production can lead to increased quality and efficiency of services. In this paper, we explore the contribution of a community empowerment policy to co-production processes. Analysing empirical findings from a mixed-method, longitudinal study through the lens of Myers et al.'s (2017) Theory of Change, the paper develops a model of a successful co-production process. We show that changes in working practices and shifts in power can create friction between co-producing actors. By critiquing specific policies, we inform future co-production research, policy, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper makes a comparative study of the four Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms used for Partial Shading Condition, Conservative MPP, Fast Terminal Sliding Mode (FTSM) controllers and under consistent shading circumstances. In addition, ANN, Kinetic Gas Molecule Optimization (KGMO) and FTSM MPPT are also included. A smart method is to use FTSM GWO algorithms under partly shadowed situations on a global MPP. The study includes a GWO methodology that successfully sets the efficient FTSM controller parameters such that the global maximum PV device powerpoint is monitored under partial shade. In the MATLAB setting and test performance, it is programmed for the suggested methodology of changing shade patterns dynamically. The findings are assessed and compared with ANN, KGMO and FTSM algorithms, and a more accurate method of monitoring the global MPP is found. The methods are also evaluated and contrasted in a PV array under various partial shadowing circumstances. Experimental effects are used to verify the control technique and stability analysis is performed based on the nonlinear method of analysis in the closed-loop design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finance is a precondition for many of the activities that harm ecosystems, but how to address this underlying driver of biodiversity loss remains a topic of debate. This paper reviews the Task Force on Nature‐Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), a corporate‐led effort that aims to identify how changes to biodiversity may create financial risks for companies and investors. This approach is also promoted as a strategy for managing the impact of business on biodiversity, with the assumption that risk disclosure will more effectively price biodiversity‐harming activities. We assess the potential of the TNFD toward this end, and invite conservation scientists, practitioners, and policymakers to engage critically with its theory of change. We find that the relationship between disclosing biodiversity risk and redirecting finance away from environmental degradation is tenuous and unproven, making this mechanism insufficient for addressing the impact of the financial sector on nature. We question the embrace of another industry‐led mechanism that implies that a lack of information is the greatest barrier to stopping biodiversity loss. Further, there are risks that this financial sector approach to biodiversity will reinforce the highly unequal concentration of power and wealth, which is itself inimical to transformative change, as called for by the Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how safety and liveness properties are not necessarily preserved by different kinds of copies of computational artefacts and proposes procedures to preserve them, which are consistent with ethical analyses on software property rights infringement. Safety and liveness are second-order properties that are crucial in the definition of the formal ontology of computational artefacts. Software copies are analysed at the level of their formal models as exact , inexact and approximate copies, according to the taxonomy in [ 3 ]. First, it is explained how exact copies are the only kind of copies that preserve safety and liveness properties, and how inexact and approximate copies do not necessarily preserve them. Secondly, two model checking algorithms are proposed to verify whether inexact and approximate copies actually preserve safety and liveness properties. Essential properties of termination, correctness and complexity are proved for these algorithms. Finally, contraction and expansion algorithmic operations are defined, allowing for the automatic design of safety- and liveness-preserving approximate copies. As a conclusion, the relevance of the present logical analysis for the ongoing debates in miscomputation and computer ethics is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing teachers' ability to better navigate stress and emotional responses has the potential to improve classroom behaviors, student learning as well as teachers' wellbeing. While there is growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), there is need for greater attention to design aligned with relevant theories and transparent reporting to improve the rigor and translation of research. While utilized widely in health and behavior fields, behavior change theory has not been applied extensively in education or MBI research. This descriptive methodological paper articulates the intervention mapping and design process of an MBI to improve teachers' stress and emotional regulation. To improve reporting, we use a post hoc application of a well-established behavioral model. Application of the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) as part of an intervention mapping approach for an MBI to align teacher's needs with intervention elements most likely to achieve desired behavioral outcomes. The paper illustrates an approach which includes defining the problem in behavioral terms, identification of target behaviors and behavioral change techniques, and selection of strategies and modes of intervention delivery. A systematic intervention mapping approach applying the BCW can yield a holistic MBI for the desired behavior change, enhanced emotion and stress regulation in teachers. This example of applying the BCW to the design of an MBI demonstrates how intervention designers and researchers can make decisions about which techniques and delivery components to include in their interventions, and how to systematically describe them. Such approaches have the potential to improve the reporting and methodological rigor of future MBI research and the successful application of interventions in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crises do not affect populations equally but expose and exacerbate long‐standing vulnerabilities and inequalities. Recovery language such as 'build back better', or 'bounce forward' has been criticised for neglecting underlying inequalities. This paper reports on the process and early outcomes of an inclusive Community Recovery Planning process for the Falkland Islands, in response to Covid‐19. The Falkland Islands is home to a complex community, with close ties and short power distances (due to its small size and remoteness), with differences institutionalised in citizenship statuses and entitlements, and shaped by geopolitical tensions. We aimed to use the 'pandemic as a portal', seeking out previously 'less heard' voices, to make visible previously hidden impacts, and initiate incremental systemic change to tackle them. Community Impact Assessments evidenced specific areas of vulnerability (e.g., housing and income insecurity) and inequalities, largely shaped by differing citizenship status. In tandem with other government currents, the Community Recovery Planning process has contributed to progressive policy changes in Equalities legislation and Income Support. We offer this paper as a demonstration of our methodology for inclusive recovery planning that could be adapted elsewhere. We argue that the inclusion of previously unheard voices contributed to incremental systemic change to reduce inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information Communication Technologies (ICT) research projects are important in generating breakthrough technologies that translate into solutions for numerous societal grand challenges through research and innovation (R&I). However, to ensure that such solutions are socially desirable, there is a concerted drive for the engagement of different stakeholders, including industry, academia, public and government. In the face of the growing recognition of stakeholder engagement in ICT research projects, particularly as part of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), there is a limited discourse on how its consequence could be evaluated. This paper suggests and uses a Theory of Change approach to evaluate the value of stakeholder engagement on the attainment of socially desirable and responsible outcomes in projects, particularly ICT research projects. Using a multi-case study approach, the paper appraises the value of stakeholder engagement in ICT research projects by elucidating the linkages between stakeholder activities and socially desirable outcomes. The findings from the paper could apply to other types of projects apart from ICT research projects in understanding some of the roles stakeholders play in ensuring responsible innovation as an outcome of the projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Institutional theory had been developed for the purpose of explaining widespread diffusion, mimetic adoption and institutionalization of organizational practices. However, further extensions of institutional theory are needed to explain a range of different institutional trajectories and organizational responses since institutionalized standards constitute a minority of all diffusing practices. The study presents a theoretical framework which offers guidelines for explaining and predicting various adoption, variation and post-adoption scenarios. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is primarily conceptual in nature, and the arguments are developed based on previous institutional theory and organizational change literature. Findings: The notion of institutional inertia is proposed in order to provide a more detailed explanation of when and why organizations ignore, adopt, modify, maintain and abandon practices and the way intra-organizational institutional pressures shape, direct and constrain these processes. It is specified whether institutional inertia will be temporarily eclipsed or whether it will actively manifest itself during adoption, adaptation and maintaining attempts. The study distinguishes between four institutional profiles of organizational practices – institutionalized, institutionally friendly, neutral and contested practices – which can vary along three dimensions: accuracy, extensiveness and meaning. The variation and post-adoption outcomes for each of them can be completely characterized and predicted by only three parameters: the rate of institutional inertia, institutional profile of these practices and whether they are interpretatively flexible. In turn, an extent of intraorganizational institutional resistance to new practices is determined by their institutional profile and flexibility. Practical implications: It is expected that proposed theoretical explanations in this paper can offer insights into these empirical puzzles and supply a broader view of organizational and management changes. The study's theoretical propositions help to understand what happens to organizational practices after they are handled by organizations, thus moving beyond the adoption/rejection dichotomy. Originality/value: The paper explores and clarifies the nature of institutional inertia and offers an explanation of its manifestation in organizations over time and how it shapes organizational practices in the short and long run. It challenges a popular assumption in organizational literature that fast and revolutionary transition is a prerequisite for successful change. More broadly, the typology offered in this paper helps to explain whether and how organizations can successfully handle and complete their change and how far they can depart from institutional norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, 3ie organised a Festshrift to celebrate the contributions of Howard White, 3ie’s founding executive director, to development studies. In this introductory article, we provide a reflection on the contributions made in his career so far. Common themes include substance, namely a focus on the poor and disenfranchised; methodology, including theory of change and counterfactual analysis; and the promotion of evidence-based policy. We present an overview of the papers contained in the issue, which were commissioned from colleagues who have worked with Howard over the years. A second issue of theJournal of Development Effectivenesscontaining further papers commissioned as part of the Festschrift will be published in December 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the development process (2015-2020) of the Learning Initiative for Norms, Exploitation, and Abuse (LINEA) Intervention. The LINEA Intervention is a multi-component social norms intervention to prevent agedisparate transactional sex in Tanzania. This paper aims to: (1) critically reflect on the LINEA Intervention development process by retrospectively comparing it with a pragmatic, phased framework for intervention development in public health, the Six Essential Steps for Quality Intervention Development (6SQuID); and (2) discuss the usefulness and applicability of this framework to guide intervention development for gender-based violence prevention. This paper contributes to a growing field of intervention development research to improve the designs of interventions to prevent gender-based violence. Findings showed that the LINEA Intervention development approach mostly aligned with the steps in 6SQuID framework. However, the LINEA Intervention development process placed particular emphasis on two phases of the 6SQuID framework. First, the LINEA Intervention development process included significant investment in formative research, feasibility testing, and refinement; and second, the LINEA Intervention was informed by a clearly articulated behavior change theory--social norms theory. Beyond the 6SQuID framework the LINEA Intervention development process: (i) followed a non-linear, iterative process; (ii) applied ongoing feasibility testing to refine the intervention, and (iii) relied on co-development with local implementers and participants. This paper suggests future components for a robust intervention development process, highlighting beneficial additions to the 6SQuID approach, a well-recognized intervention development sequence. Particularly useful additions include incorporating sufficient time, flexibility, and resources to foster meaningful collaborations and iteration on the intervention design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A slew of conventional change models and theories appear in the extant change literature. Despite being theoretically sound, these a priori structured approaches to organizational change management have questionable application given the rapidly changing business environments. Novel approaches, offering greater flexibility to fast changing external conditions, may offer superior models to organizational change and organizational transformation (OT) in particular. In this paper, the application of a complex adaptive system (CAS) framework, from complexity theory (CT), for managing OT is assessed theoretically. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual paper. Findings: A review of the extant change literature suggests that current approaches and models for organizational change are limited in their ability to reflect OT responses to today's highly dynamic external environments. New models are required to inform and guide organizations. A new model, i.e. CAS framework, is deemed suitable to guide the OT implementation. Originality/value: This paper critically analyses different approaches to change management, consolidates CAS framework, reviews its applications in the field of management and presents a case for CAS's application for the management of OT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The 'Articulate' programme is a high‐intensity five‐day widening participation programme designed to help students develop their communication skills and confidence through a range of activities led by an Articulacy tutor and culminates in students taking an examination for the English Speaking Board (ESB) Level 1 Award in speech on the final day. Additionally, students also develop their understanding of and aspirations towards higher education (HE) through sustained interaction with student ambassadors, who support all sessions throughout the week. Based on the conceptual framework of the theory of change, the intervention primarily addresses the barrier of soft skills, including increasing students' self‐belief, while also addressing some of the barriers of socio‐economic factors to HE participation namely knowledge, understanding and likelihood of applying to HE in future, through increased exposure to HE role models. In this paper we report our findings from the evaluation where we are studying the effectiveness of the programme. Through survey questionnaires data was collected from over 698 students in year 9 and year 10, studying at 42 schools across Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset who took part in the 'Articulate' programme, which was run in collaboration with Next Steps South West (NSSW). Results show the majority of participating students went on to perform well in the ESB exam; furthermore, participants were more likely to have positive attitudes towards HE and considered applying to HE in future. The findings will be of particular interest to practitioners and activity providers. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyThis paper summarises the mid‐term evaluation of an outreach programme designed for under‐represented groups to build their soft (communication) skills and develop their understanding of higher education (HE)—in terms of applying to university, support available and the possibilities HE can offer.Why the new findings matterIt is possible to achieve medium‐term goals only after a sequence of short‐term goals are completed and built together to form a long‐term pursuit. Evaluating these goals is particularly useful for those delivering them and for the funder. Long‐term plans are what we are working towards, but the value of moderate to mid‐term goals is that they let us check our progress and evaluate whether we are still heading towards our long‐term pursuit and whether our plan, design or choices need to change to reach desired outcomes.ImplicationsWe expect the paper will be of particular interest to funders, regulators, practitioners and activity providers delivering similar programmes and will encourage them to evaluate the programmes they run for effectiveness and accountability. Based on the work done by some research team members, the Office for Students has recently published a report encouraging higher education institutions, outreach and activity providers to consider the standards of evidence and programme evaluation. Our work is one example of a mid‐term review for an ongoing programme with long‐term goals. Such reports are relatively rare, and we expect this evidence‐based practice will set a good example for colleagues involved in similar work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing number of impact evaluations worldwide, the question of how to apply this evidence in policy making processes has arguably become the main challenge for evidence-based policy making. How can policy makers predict whether a policy will have the same impact in their context as it did elsewhere, and how should this influence the policy's design and implementation? This paper suggests that failures of external validity (both in transporting and scaling up policy) can be understood as arising from an interaction between a policy's theory of change and a dimension of the context in which it is being implemented. The paper surveys existing approaches to analyzing external validity, and suggests that there has been more focus on the generalizability of impact evaluation results than on the applicability of evidence to specific contexts. To help fill this gap, the study develops a method of "mechanism mapping" that maps a policy's theory of change against salient contextual assumptions to identify external validity problems and suggest appropriate policy adaptations. In deciding whether and how to adapt a policy, there is a fundamental informational trade-off between the strength of evidence on the policy from other contexts and the policy maker's information about the local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]