Contribution analysis is a method for understanding how much a program contributed to an observed change. In the real world, programs don’t operate in a vacuum – the things they are trying to change and improve (e.g., health, homelessness, education) are affected by many other factors besides just the program being evaluated. Contribution analysis is used to figure out exactly how much of a change came from the program, and how much was the result of outside factors.

See also: outcome, logic model, theory of change

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