Patchworking rigour through Tori Dey: An African bricolage for complex evaluations

In this article, we present Tori Dey as an African-rooted evaluation approach grounded in storytelling, epistemic plurality, relational Ubuntu-based ways of perceiving reality and knowledge. It embodies methodological bricolage by creatively recombining narrative, rubric and participatory methods to navigate complex social change contexts. We examine how Tori Dey sustains rigour while embracing pluralism, drawing on evidence from the Mastercard Foundation’s Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth project. We argue that rigour in bricolage is not simply about method integration, but about transparent processes of iteration, triangulation and communal sense-making. We illustrate how Tori Dey uses Indigenous data collection instruments, story rubrics, collective interpretation and structured documentation to achieve validity and inclusion. By situating Tori Dey within global debates on methodological bricolage, we highlight its contribution as an Indigenous innovation that expands notions of quality in evaluation.