Abstract
The dynamic nature of advocacy presents a challenge for evaluators to rigorously assess cause-and-effect relationships linking advocacy efforts to policy change. Contribution analysis, developed by Dr. John Mayne, offers a nonexperimental impact evaluation method for testing and validating contribution claims in a policy context with multiple actors and influences. Using two case examples, the authors share how they applied the steps of contribution analysis to determine with greater confidence the extent to which an initiative or campaign contributed to a policy outcome. The authors provide observations and tips for advocacy and policy evaluators on how to create a succinct, evidence-based story about the contribution claim and how coalitions can use these stories to inform strategic decision-making.