Abstract
This thesis offers insight into three evaluation methods (namely, Theory of Change, Process Tracing, and Most Significant Change) rooted in the concept of complexity social science, and grounded in the theoretical underpinnings of complex realism, the three methods are applied to evaluate the impacts of a sustainable tourism project implemented in six pilot regions under the France-Channel England EU-INTERREG programme. The thesis discusses the value of three qualitative, complexity-aware evaluation methods, implemented in a participatory manner, in aiding the researcher throughout the exploration of the complex role of human agency in change initiatives. A main overall finding of the thesis is that participatory, complexity-aware evaluation methods can encourage multiple layers of leaning (project implementers, beneficiaries and funders) whilst at the same time support a more holistic and positive understanding of accountability which is not solely directed to funders but also at a local policy level and across all stakeholders of an intervention. Findings suggest that for evaluation to move beyond being perceived as a tedious, box-ticking exercise centred on how a funder’s money was spent, there first needs to be a shift in mindset among those commissioning projects and allocating funding.
The thesis offers a theoretical and empirical framework that sets the precedent for learning and accountability to be understood as two concepts that go hand in hand in the evaluation process. It is the first study that applies the three methods in tandem, though at different stages of the evaluation, to maximise the benefits of each method, enriching the understanding of what represents impact. The methods discussed across the three studies make explicit the links between the theorised intervention and the mechanisms contributing to change once the intervention is implemented on the ground. The innovative application of participatory, qualitative, complexity-aware evaluation methods to the field of tourism interventions facilitates the exploration of non-linear relationships and feedback loops amongst the actors involved in the implementation of an intervention. In response to an emerging agenda calling for more holistic evaluation methods for sustainability-oriented tourism interventions, the methods explored throughout this thesis illustrate how grounding evaluation methods in theoretical framework of complex realism enhances learning and accountability of tourism policy making a valuable contribution to knowledge in the field of sustainable tourism intervention, particularly in how we evaluate impacts of the latter.