Phase 2: Developing your intervention theory
The key question to consider here is:
- How will your approach to public involvement lead to the impacts you want?
An intervention theory is simply a description of how you think your chosen approach to public involvement will lead to the impacts you want. We have produced an example of how reviewing what you recorded on the record card during Part 1 will help you to do this.
As you develop your 'theory' consider:
- The likelihood of multiple pathways from involvement processes to specific impacts;
- That different members of your team may have different ideas about these pathways.
- That the public involved in your research may have different ideas about how their involvement will achieve the desired impacts than you have.
It may be sensible to design your impact assessment to test more than one 'theory'. Our bibliography (See Further Reading) may help you find other studies that provide support for your ideas.
If you are unable to develop a logical explanation for why your approach to, and methods for public involvement can be anticipated to have the impacts you want, you should considering whether you need to involve people in different ways and/or revise your expectations of the impact you want from PI. (See readings on complex interventions in Further Reading)
