Designed blindness: an action science perspective on program theory evaluation

Abstract

This article is intended to stimulate a dialogue between program theory evaluation and action science for the purposes of cross-fertilization and mutual enrichment. Both program theory evaluation and action science use the concept of implicit “theories of action” as a central construct in the study of social practice. However, an action science approach suggests a wider understanding of program theory that (1) specifies the links between individual reasoning and behavior to program implementation, and (2) accounts for how programs deal with dilemmas, conflict, and error. This paper begins with a systematic, though not exhaustive, comparison of program theory evaluation and action science. It analyzes an exemplar of program theory evaluation from an action science perspective to illustrate a subtheory, “designed blindness,” and its impact on both program implementation and the evaluation itself. It then offers a theory for overcoming designed blindness. Finally, this article argues that action science concepts and skills can enable program theory evaluators to be more effective in confronting defensiveness and in facilitating learning among stakeholders when there is a gap between “espoused” program theory and “theory-in-use.”