Side-by-side comparisons of report excerpts before and after strengthening. Each covers a common weakness pattern, with explanation of what was changed and why.

Vague Theory of Change
Before

"The project aimed to improve the quality of education in underserved communities by providing infrastructure support and teacher capacity building. The programme reached over 25,000 students across three districts."

No causal mechanism. No pathway from activities to outcomes. "Reached" is an output, not an impact. No assumptions stated.
After

"Learning outcomes in the target districts lagged state averages by 15 percentage points, driven by high teacher absenteeism and inadequate learning materials. The intervention hypothesised that structured classroom support, combined with community monitoring of teacher attendance, would improve grade-appropriate learning. This assumed district administration cooperation and stable teacher postings."

Principle 1: Purpose & Theory of Change Clarity
Over-Claimed Attribution
Before

"As a result of our intervention, household incomes in the target villages increased by 34% over the project period. This demonstrates the significant impact of our livelihoods programme on rural poverty."

Claims direct causation. No consideration of alternative explanations (market prices, government schemes, seasonal factors). No counterfactual.
After

"Household incomes in target villages rose by 34%, compared to approximately 18% in neighbouring non-intervention villages over the same period. While the intervention's market linkage activities plausibly contributed to above-trend growth, concurrent government price support schemes and favourable monsoon conditions also played a role. We estimate the intervention's specific contribution at 8–12 percentage points of the total increase."

Principle 6: Attribution, Contribution & Impact Logic
Missing Reflexivity
Before

"All project targets were met or exceeded. The programme was successfully implemented across all target communities with high levels of beneficiary satisfaction."

No acknowledgment of challenges, adaptations, or failures. No learning extracted. Reads as marketing rather than assessment.
After

"The programme's community mobilisation approach worked well in villages with existing self-help group networks but struggled in communities without prior collective action experience. In Year 2, the implementation team adapted by introducing facilitated village meetings before programme activities. Three villages were dropped from the programme due to sustained low engagement, raising questions about selection criteria that future programming should address."

Principle 8: Learning & Reflexivity

The nine principles apply differently depending on sector context. These briefs show how each sector presents distinct measurement challenges — and how the Standard accommodates them.

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Healthcare
Case Brief · 12 min read

Healthcare interventions present unique attribution challenges in multi-intervention environments where government health schemes, private providers, and CSR programmes operate simultaneously.

Key Challenges Attribution in multi-provider environments · Ethical considerations around patient data · Measuring systemic versus individual outcomes · Long-term health impacts versus short-term service delivery
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Education
Case Brief · 10 min read

Educational outcomes manifest over years and decades, creating fundamental challenges for annual or programme-cycle impact assessment. The time-lag problem is central.

Key Challenges Time-lag between intervention and outcome · Age-appropriate consent and participation · Distinguishing learning outputs from learning impact · Contextual factors (home environment, nutrition, teacher quality)
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Livelihoods
Case Brief · 11 min read

Livelihoods interventions must contend with market dynamics, seasonal variation, and the fundamental question of what constitutes "sustainable" economic change versus temporary income effects.

Key Challenges Defining sustainable economic change · Market dynamics and external factors · Participatory definitions of "improvement" · Gender-differentiated impacts on household economies
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Environment
Case Brief · 13 min read

Environmental restoration operates on ecological timescales that far exceed programme cycles. Establishing meaningful baselines and counterfactuals is exceptionally challenging.

Key Challenges Ecological baseline and counterfactual challenges · Long-term versus short-term indicators · Integrating community perspectives with scientific measurement · Climate variability as confounding factor

"The most effective way to shift practice is not to describe good work in the abstract, but to show it."

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