We are one among many actors working to bring about positive change in children’s lives. We believe that the policies and programmes intended to support children and young people are more likely to be effective (and cost-effective) if they are based on rigorous evidence about children’s experiences, development and outcomes, and that longitudinal analysis has a particular role to play by allowing us to see how children’s lives change over time and how children’s outcomes are shaped, both by their earliest circumstances as well as risks and opportunities through to adulthood.

Our role is: to generate high-quality longitudinal evidence about the impact of poverty on children’s lives in contexts of economic and social change; to disseminate that evidence in accessible ways to a wide range of global and national stakeholders; and to try to ensure it is used to improve the policy and programme work of governments and other organisations across all sectors and at all stages of children’s lives.

We do not work in isolation. Research is only one element in a long process to bring about change for children and young people – a process which also involves advocacy and campaigns to generate political will and shape policy agendas; accountability and good governance within government and systems; adherence to human rights standards and observing children’s rights; positive resource allocation by ministries, donors and international organisations; and community change. Evidence from our research is just one input into those processes of political change, among others.

Our theory of change expresses our role in and contribution to these processes, the strategies we implement, and the outcomes we want to achieve. It offers a framework for moving forward on our core agenda, and reflects our processes of sharing, learning and reflecting.