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Are we true to our intentions | Theory

You need to monitor fidelity to evaluate whether you are achieving your goal in your theory of change. Fidelity refers to how closely a programme follows how it was designed to be implemented. A good first step is getting a basic evaluation plan in place which is aligned to your theory of change, then using this tool to monitor fidelity to different aspects of your delivery.

Starting point

Start here if you are a youth practitioner new to evaluation and quality improvement design:

Asking good questions about program quality and consistency

If you’re new to this, then this introduction and workbook developed by the College is a great place to start. It will help you think through this question and introduce you to how you can introduce or improve how you monitor fidelity to your theory of change.

Download the workbook

Monitoring implementation fidelity

This two minute YouTube film by the Canadian Institute of Health Research introduces all the basics of fidelity monitoring.

Watch the film

Advanced

Resources to build on your experience of evaluation frameworks and continuous quality improvement:

Scottish Equity Audit: the Impact of Covid-19

If you are interested in understanding whether your fidelity to plans benefit everyone, you might want to conduct an equity audit. Here is an example from Scotland, auditing the impact of Covid-19 on its young people.

View the audit

Implementing an Evidence-Based Parenting Programme with Adherence in the Real World of Community Practice

If you are interested in what fidelity monitoring looks like in the real world, you can read this academic paper about fidelity to core components (the protocol) in The Incredible Years family programme. The barriers to adherence are particularly useful pointers to consider in planning your monitoring.

Read the article