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From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation
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 thei...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Political Studies
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613200325804032 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain |
| author2 | Van der Merwe, Hugo |
| author_browse | Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain Van der Merwe, Hugo |
| author_facet | Van der Merwe, Hugo Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain |
| author_sort | Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | 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. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20694 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:21.936Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Political Studies |
| publisherStr | Department of Political Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20694 From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain Van der Merwe, Hugo Political Studies Justice and Transformation 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. 2016-07-25T11:29:29Z 2016-07-25T11:29:29Z 2016 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694 eng application/pdf Department of Political Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Political Studies Justice and Transformation Sensabaugh, Kathleen Brittain From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| title_full | From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| title_fullStr | From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| title_full_unstemmed | From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| title_short | From implementation to impact : exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| title_sort | from implementation to impact exploring the theories of change civil society organisation use to pursue community reconciliation |
| topic | Political Studies Justice and Transformation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20694 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sensabaughkathleenbrittain fromimplementationtoimpactexploringthetheoriesofchangecivilsocietyorganisationusetopursuecommunityreconciliation |