The Inclusive Rigour Co-Lab is a diverse group of evaluators, practitioners, researchers and funders reflecting on the practice of inclusive rigour when evaluating in conditions of complexity. To enhance practical applications of this conceptual reframing as well as to support debate and learning, the Inclusive Rigour Co-Lab used case studies across their broad range of complexity-aware peacebuilding initiatives to shape a framework, published in this 2024 article. As of 2026, the Coordination Hub for Inclusive Rigour is based here at the Institute of Development Studies, led by Marina Apgar.

Inclusive Rigour is a way to reframe “rigour” in order to produce more useful and meaningful understanding of how change happens based on epistemological pluralism. It was developed to move away from a restrictive understanding associated with a strict, method fidelity-driven rigour which in evaluation is often associated with counterfactual designs towards a more holistic understanding based on a thoughtful design process, that takes into account complexity and non-linear causal pathways.

Inclusive Rigour posits that a wide range of participant experiences are key in understanding change in complex systems, because they have agency in the process of change, have unique experiences of the system and what supports or hinders change that are necessary to explain how causal pathways are emerging. When participation is power aware and meaningful, it can lead to co-ownership of the evaluation process, supporting a more transformative approach to evaluation.

The concept was first introduced in the field of evaluation by Robert Chambers (2015), and further developed by authors such as Preskill & Lynn (2016), or Aston & Apgar (2022).

In 2026, the Inclusive Rigour Co-Lab have published a Canvas and Design Workbook offering a structure for how to apply the Inclusive Rigour concepts through an intentional MEL design process.

Find out more about Inclusive Rigour

Read less