Evaluating whether or not programmatic outcomes were achieved may be useful, but evaluators and users of evaluation often want to know if a programmatic intervention led to the achievement of program outcomes. But not all evaluation methods, and not all evaluation evidence, support causal stories. Even when evaluators declare that evaluation data should not be used for causal explanation, “just-so” causal stories can often find a way into the analysis of findings. This presentation will draw from examples of foreign assistance evaluations to discuss the misuse of causal stories in evaluation and what to look out for when reviewing evaluations that present causal narratives.
