Let us know if you think any further terms should be added.
Click on the letter above to jump down to the relevant section, or just scroll down the page.
|
Activities
MBIE: Activities that generate new knowledge and new applications. HRC: Generating new knowledge through conducting research usually involves collaboration between researchers and research end-users (or next-users) and training of post-graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and sometimes includes involvement and training of non-academics (e.g. clinical professionals or community co-producers of research). OECD/DAC glossary: Actions taken or work performed through which inputs, such as funds, technical assistance and other types of resources are mobilised to produce specific outputs Kusek and Rist (2004): What we do. Activities can be stated with a verb (“market,” “provide, “ “facilitate,” “deliver”). Assumption(s)
Explicit description of certain conditions you are expecting to exist during the course of your intervention/project. The assumption could include a state holding steady (e.g., that a certain piece of legislation stays the same) or that a certain condition is expected to change in a stated way (e.g., some kind of decrease of a resource). The assumptions are important to explicitly document when they have or likely to have an influence on your results (outputs, outcomes, impacts), so if you do not achieve the results you expected you can test if your assumptions were correct. Attribution
OECD/DAC glossary: The ascription of a causal link between observed (or expected to be observed) changes and a specific intervention. Note: Attribution refers to that which is to be credited for the observed changes or results achieved. It represents the extent to which observed development effects can be attributed to a specific intervention or to the performance of one or more partner taking account of other interventions, (anticipated or unanticipated) confounding factors, or external shocks. See also: 'contribution' |
|
Benefit
The positive difference (by way of an output, outcome, impact) that your project/intervention (programme, research) makes. |
|
Coherence
OECD (revised) definition: The compatibility of the intervention with other interventions in a country, sector or institution. Contribution
Term used to describe the extent to which/how much an intervention/project/programme has affected (contributed too) a particular change (outcome or impact). Often used with attribution, to distinguish from those results that are as a direct consequence of a project/intervention (is accountable for), versus those the intervention/project has influenced. Outcomes and impacts can only be influenced by a project or intervention. The question is how much influence you’ve had on these results. See also: 'attribution' Counterfactual
What would have happened without the intervention /project /programme. OECD/DAC glossary: The situation or condition which hypothetically may prevail for individuals, organizations, or groups were there no intervention. |
|
Effectiveness
OECD (revised definition): The extent to which the intervention achieved, or is expected to achieve, its objectives, and its results, including any differential results across groups. Efficiency
OECD (revised definition): The extent to which the intervention delivers, or is likely to deliver, results in an economic and timely way. |
|
Impact
MBIE – research impact: A change to the economy, society or environment, beyond contribution to knowledge and skills in research organisations. HRC – research impact: The direct and indirect influence of excellent research on individuals, communities or society as a whole, including improvements to health and equity, and other social, economic, cultural or environmental benefits for Aotearoa/New Zealand. OECD (revised definition): The extent to which the intervention has generated or is expected to generate significant positive or negative, intended or unintended, higher-level effects. OECD (previous definition): Positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by a intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. Kusek and Rist (2004): Long-term changes that result from an accumulation of outcomes. Can be similar to strategic objectives. Impact model
See impact pathway, logic model, intervention logic, programme logic etc. Impact pathway
Another term used to describe the conceptual approach used to refer to the process of describing the ‘line of sight’ from a research activity to impact. The term usually requires the identification of inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes an impacts. Examples of organisations who use this terminology include the HRC, who talk about the ‘pathway to impact’ model. Also see results chain, logic model, intervention logic. Implementation pathway
See impact pathway. Indicator
OECD DAC glossary: Quantitative or qualitative factor or variable that provides a simple and reliable means to measure achievement, to reflect the changes connected to an intervention, or to help assess the performance of an actor. Inputs
MBIE: Resources that support research activities. OECD/DAC glossary: The financial, human and material resources used for the intervention. HRC: Inputs includes the existing knowledge base that has led to the research question being asked. This might include discipline-specific knowledge, government policies/priorities, public/community/iwi knowledge, or clinical need. Research inputs includes this existing knowledge alongside the addition of:
Intervention
A generic term used to encompass a wide range of efforts undertaken with a view to making some kind of a change. In the RS&I context this will typically be a research project or programme, but can also include things such as policy advice, development of a strategy etc. (also see Box. 1 in the OECD revised evaluation criteria definitions). Intervention logic
See results chain/logic model |
|
Lessons learned
OECD/DAC glossary: Generalisations based on evaluation experiences with projects, programmes, or policies that abstract from the specific circumstances to broader situations. Frequently, lessons highlight strengths or weaknesses in preparation, design, and implementation that affect performance, outcome, and impact. Logic model
Term used to describe depicting the theory of change diagrammatically. This term is used by Kusek and Rist 2004, but it is interchangeable with results chain/intervention logic etc. Note: A theory of change is technically slightly different from a logic model, but in practice the terms are often used interchangeably, as a logic model is a pragmatic tool to describe or capture an intervention/programme’s ‘theory of change’. If you’d like to understand the difference, this resource provides a good summary. |
|
MERL
Acronym for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning. Refers to the activities commonly done together for a project/programme/intervention. Sometimes Research is changed for Reflections when there is a stronger focus on iterative learning, adaptive practice and improvement. M&E
Acronym for Monitoring and Evaluation - two linked activities that seek to evidence the ‘difference’ a project/programme/intervention makes. Monitoring is a continuing function that uses systematic collection of data on specified indicators to provide management and the main stakeholders of an ongoing intervention with indications of the extent of progress and achievement of objectives and progress in the use of allocated funds. Evaluation typically involves making some determination of the merit and worth of a particular intervention/project/programme based on some kind of agreed criteria. Evaluation often has a key focus on documenting lessons learned also. |
|
Objective
Used interchangeably with 'purpose' and 'goal' Purpose: The publicly stated objectives of the programme or project. Goal: The higher-order objective to which an intervention is intended to contribute. OECD/DAC glossary Outcomes
MBIE: Mechanisms that lead to impacts by use or application of outputs. HRC: Research outputs transform to research outcomes/interim benefits following utilisation by a research user along the pathway to final impact. OECD/DAC glossary: The likely or achieved short-term and medium-term effects of an intervention’s outputs. Kusek and Rist (2004): Why we do it. Outcomes are the behavioural changes that result from the project outputs (quit smoking, boiling water, using bed nets). Outcomes can be increased, decreased, enhanced, improved, or maintained. Output
MBIE: The knowledge and skills developed by research activities. HRC: Any form of demonstrable output embodying the findings generated by the research. For example, outputs can include direct products and/or services such as journal articles, conference presentations, hui, media engagements, reports, manuals, guidelines, prototypes, patents, software, or datasets. The outputs of research can also include tacit knowledge exchanged between collaborators, and the training of students and postgraduate researchers, leading to increases in human capital (an intermediate mechanism for impact). OECD/DAC glossary: The products, capital goods and services which result from a intervention; may also include changes resulting from the intervention which are relevant to the achievement of outcomes. Kusek and Rist (2004): What we produce. Outputs are the tangible products or services produced as a result of the activities. They are usually expressed as nouns. They typically do not have modifiers. They are tangible and can be counted. |
|
Programme logic
See results chain/logic model. |
|
Relevance
OECD (revised definition): The extent to which the intervention objectives and design respond to beneficiaries’, global, country, and partner/institution needs, policies, and priorities, and continue to do so if circumstances change. Research
Often used interchangeably with science. Research describes the systematic investigation of a particular issue/question of interest to establish facts and reach conclusions based on the available evidence. See also: 'activities' Research Users
Also known as 'next users' or 'end-users'. HRC: Those who will benefit from the research are agents along the pathway to impact that utilise the research outputs (in conceptual or instrumental ways), including members of the community, the public sector, industry and other researchers. Results
OECD / DAC glossary: The output, outcome or impact (intended or unintended, positive and/or negative) of an intervention. Results chain
OECD / DAC glossary: The causal sequence for an intervention that stipulates the necessary sequence to achieve desired objectives – beginning with inputs, moving through activities and outputs, and culminating in outcomes, impacts and feedback. In some agencies, reach is part of the results chain. Results diagram
The term used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to refer to a logic model/results chain. Their guidance often does not include depicting the inputs and activities. The diagram instead starts with 'outputs'. RS&I
Acronym for Research, Science and Innovation. |
|
Science
Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. |
|
Theory of change
Theory of change is a representation of how an intervention is expected to lead to desired results. (Kusek and Rist 2004). See also: 'Logic model' |
