From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation

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dc.contributor.advisorVan der Merwe, Hugoen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSensabaugh, Kathleen Brittainen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-25T11:29:29Z
dc.date.available2016-07-25T11:29:29Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe central goal of this thesis is to explore the underlying theories and concepts that help to explain the step-by-step processes and form the foundations of reconciliation-based programmes in Cape Town, South Africa. In theory, civil society organisations (CSOs) have logical rationales of how their project designs lead to some form of reconciliation, but in practice, the links between project activities and project goals are very ambiguous and are seldom articulated in detail. Through empirical research, this thesis provides the explanation and articulation needed to link the goals and outcomes by applying strategies used in "theory of change" (TOC) discourse to two community reconciliation projects in Cape Town: the Community Healing Project housed under the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, and the Healing of Memory workshops housed under the Institute for Healing of Memories. A TOC framework was first applied to community projects in the 1990s in the United States. The framework was designed to help explain the underlying theories that linked the activities to outcomes of community programmes that were established to tackle social issues on the community level. Seen as a success in explaining these projects, a TOC framework has been applied to several other community organisations, but has not been fully explored outside the Western context. The main goal of this research, then, is to apply a TOC framework to the two case studies and ascertain if it is a helpful tool in explaining community reconciliation interventions. The rationale for this research stems from the superficial engagement of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South African communities, which resulted in a lack of healing and reconciliation at the community level. After the completion of the TRC, CSOs filled this gap in reconciliation by designing programmes to facilitate healing and reconciliation within communities. Years into the construction of such reconciliation projects, more information is needed about how the CSOs explain their programmes. The methodology for this research first involves an inductive approach that allows for observations about the activities and intended outcomes that make up the two case studies, then applies a TOC framework that allows for the explanation of the concepts that link the activities and outcomes. The research concludes that the application of a TOC framework to community reconciliation projects is not only a useful tool in helping to explain how the projects operate, but should be a necessary practice in explaining community reconciliation interventions because of its ability to describe the complicated phenomenon of reconciliation and avoid superficial explanations. By applying a TOC framework, the concepts and theories that lie behind the intervention strategies help to articulate why change happens the way it does.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSensabaugh, K. B. (2016). <i>From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain. <i>"From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSensabaugh, K. 2016. From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain AB - The central goal of this thesis is to explore the underlying theories and concepts that help to explain the step-by-step processes and form the foundations of reconciliation-based programmes in Cape Town, South Africa. In theory, civil society organisations (CSOs) have logical rationales of how their project designs lead to some form of reconciliation, but in practice, the links between project activities and project goals are very ambiguous and are seldom articulated in detail. Through empirical research, this thesis provides the explanation and articulation needed to link the goals and outcomes by applying strategies used in "theory of change" (TOC) discourse to two community reconciliation projects in Cape Town: the Community Healing Project housed under the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, and the Healing of Memory workshops housed under the Institute for Healing of Memories. A TOC framework was first applied to community projects in the 1990s in the United States. The framework was designed to help explain the underlying theories that linked the activities to outcomes of community programmes that were established to tackle social issues on the community level. Seen as a success in explaining these projects, a TOC framework has been applied to several other community organisations, but has not been fully explored outside the Western context. The main goal of this research, then, is to apply a TOC framework to the two case studies and ascertain if it is a helpful tool in explaining community reconciliation interventions. The rationale for this research stems from the superficial engagement of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South African communities, which resulted in a lack of healing and reconciliation at the community level. After the completion of the TRC, CSOs filled this gap in reconciliation by designing programmes to facilitate healing and reconciliation within communities. Years into the construction of such reconciliation projects, more information is needed about how the CSOs explain their programmes. The methodology for this research first involves an inductive approach that allows for observations about the activities and intended outcomes that make up the two case studies, then applies a TOC framework that allows for the explanation of the concepts that link the activities and outcomes. The research concludes that the application of a TOC framework to community reconciliation projects is not only a useful tool in helping to explain how the projects operate, but should be a necessary practice in explaining community reconciliation interventions because of its ability to describe the complicated phenomenon of reconciliation and avoid superficial explanations. By applying a TOC framework, the concepts and theories that lie behind the intervention strategies help to articulate why change happens the way it does. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation TI - From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSensabaugh KB. From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies, 2016 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Political Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPolitical Studiesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherJustice and Transformationen_ZA
dc.titleFrom implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliationen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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