Social Work Commons^™

Realist Evaluation: A Systems Approach For Understanding And Assessing Complex Social Programs, Dora Raymaker

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Realist evaluation, a theory-driven approach to program evaluation grounded in realist philosophy, is designed to address the question: What works for whom, to what extent, in what circumstances, and why? It is emerging as a powerful alternative to traditional approaches to intervention evaluation, such as randomized control trials, particularly in settings of high complexity and/or high stakeholder heterogeneity. Realist evaluation takes a holistic, non-linear, systems approach, and can support any research methodologies. This seminar provides an overview of realist evaluation and discussion of potential applications with programs targeting social change.