Rick Davies

ParEvo is a method of developing alternative past histories or future scenarios using a participatory evolutionary process (hence ParEvo).

This resource forms part of CGIAR's evaluation guidelines, describing how to use evaluability assessments to facilitate better evaluation outcomes.

COMPASSS (Comparative methods for systematic cross-case analysis) is a website that has been designed to develop the use of systematic comparative case analysis  as a research strategy by bringing together scholars and practitioners who sha

This article by Nicolas Legewie provides an introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). It discusses the method's main principles and advantages, including its concepts.

This book, by Schneider and Wagemann, provides a comprehensive overview of the basic principles of set theory to model causality and applications of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), the most developed form of set-theoretic method, fo

This blog post by Rick Davies discusses the criteria identified to assess the evaluability of Theory of Change (ToC).

The evaluation report has been finalized, recommendations have been made, the findings have been presented to management and funders, and then … nothing happens. In this post, originally published by CGIAR, Rick Davies and Keith Child, discuss the new CGIAR guidelines for evaluability assessment.

An evaluation usually involves some level of generalising of the findings to other times, places or groups of people.

Comparative case studies can be useful to check variation in program implementation. 

Data mining is the systematic process of discovering patterns in data sets through the use of computer algorithms.

Process tracing is a case-based approach to causal inference which focuses on the use of clues within a case (causal-process observations, CPOs) to adjudicate between alternative possible explanations. 

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a means of analysing the causal contribution of different conditions (e.g. aspects of an intervention and the wider context) to an outcome of interest.

Hierarchical card sorting (HCS) is a participatory card sorting method designed to provide insight into how people categorise and rank different phenomena.

An assessment of the extent to which an intervention can be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion.