The production of program theory in a participatory evaluation: a case study

Program Theory is an evaluation approach used to better define the intervention to be assessed, deepen comprehension of the processes used in implementation, identify its effects and the mechanisms at work in its production, improve use of evaluation results and finally improve the program. Despite the importance of the theory, there is a lack of scientific papers illustrating the instrumentation of program theory production within the specific framework of a participatory evaluation where every stakeholder affected by the intervention is actively involved in each step of the evaluation process. Through the application of the method to a case study, it is possible to describe the construction process of program theory, its conceptual basis, its steps, the techniques used, its results and its main issues.