Spirituality and impact evaluation design : the case of an addiction recovery faith-based organisation in Argentina
Date
2019-08-14
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS
Abstract
The importance of the spiritual dimension in the lives of people living in conditions of poverty
and social exclusion and the often-critical role of faith-based organisations has gained
increasing relevance in development research and practice. A growing line of research focuses
on how to integrate the faith dimension into the evaluation of social programmes and on
quantifying the effects of faith. The objective of this article is to propose a framework for
integrating a spiritual dimension into the design and practice of impact evaluation by using
the concept of integral human development (IHD). Integral human development emerged
within the Catholic social tradition, but is not specific to it. It is a perspective on human
development that integrates the material and spiritual, recognises the interdependence
between humans and their environment or territory and demands change at both the
individual and collective levels. This framework is then applied to the design of an impact
evaluation of a faith-based programme that accompanies people with drug and alcohol
addictions in Argentina. The article highlights the following characteristics of an integral
impact evaluation: the interaction between multiple well-being dimensions; the use
of knowledge and methods of analysis from multiple disciplines; the importance of
understanding the diverse pathways to improvements in well-being; the assessment of the
spiritual dimension through changes in one’s relationships with oneself, others and the
environment; and the importance of assessing personal change within the context of social
and community transformation.
Description
CITATION: Deneulin, S. & Mitchell, A. 2019. Spirituality and impact evaluation design : the case of an addiction recovery faith-based organisation in Argentina. HTS Theological Studies, 75(4), a5482, doi:10.4102/hts.v75i4.5482.
The original publication is available at https://hts.org.za
The original publication is available at https://hts.org.za
Keywords
Religion, Spirituality
Citation
Deneulin, S. & Mitchell, A. 2019. Spirituality and impact evaluation design : the case of an addiction recovery faith-based organisation in Argentina. HTS Theological Studies, 75(4), a5482, doi:10.4102/hts.v75i4.5482.