Systematic reviews summarise and synthesise the global evidence about an intervention. By incorporating causal chain analysis, a systematic review moves beyond the question of ‘does it work?’ to ‘why does it work, for whom, under what circumstances and at what cost?’.

The causal chain analysis approach is based on specifying the logic model or a theory of change for an intervention. Causal chain analysis-based systematic reviews can support programme designers and implementers to identify weak and missing links in the causal chain which in turn can help achieve better development outcomes.