This commentary focuses on the difference between a theory of change and change theory, as it relates to systemic change projects in STEM higher education. A theory of change is project-specific and related to evaluation. It makes the underlying rationale of a project explicit, which supports planning, implementation, and assessment of the project. In addition, a theory of change is often required by funding agencies as part of grant proposals. In contrast, change theories represent theoretical and empirically grounded knowledge about how change occurs that goes beyond any one project. Ideally, a theory of change is informed by change theories. This essay describes the connections between a theory of change and change theory and provides examples of how change theory can inform a project’s theory of change. Grounding projects in change theory allows change agents to draw on existing knowledge and to better contribute to our collective knowledge about how to achieve meaningful change in STEM higher education.

中文翻译：

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变革理论与变革理论：到底有什么区别？

这篇评论关注于变革理论与变革理论之间的差异，因为它与STEM高等教育中的系统变革项目有关。变更理论是特定于项目的，并且与评估相关。它使项目的基本原理清晰明了，从而支持项目的计划，实施和评估。另外，作为赠款建议的一部分，供资机构通常需要一种变革理论。相反，变更理论代表了超越任何一个项目的关于变更如何发生的理论和经验基础知识。理想情况下，变更理论以变更理论为基础。本文描述了变更理论与变更理论之间的联系，并提供了有关变更理论如何为项目变更理论提供信息的示例。