What is the MRC/NIHR Framework for Developing and Evaluating Complex Interventions, and what does it tell us about developing programme theory?

Speaker(s):

Kathryn Skivington, University of Glasgow

Abstract:

The 2021 Framework includes six core elements of intervention research that should be attended to at each research phase (development, feasibility, evaluation, implementation): context, programme theory, stakeholders, uncertainties, intervention refinement, and economic considerations. This session will give a very brief overview of the Framework, and go beyond by providing more detail on the core element of programme theory. Programme theory describes how an intervention is expected to lead to its effects and under what conditions - the Framework suggests that it is essential for programme theory to be tested and refined at all research stages and used to guide the identification of uncertainties and research questions. This session will draw on examples of programme theory and provide suggestions for how its development and refinement can be approached.