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What is a Theory of Change? A closer look.
What is a Theory of Change? A closer look.
September 22, 2020
A Theory of Change is a helpful evaluation tool, and it answers the question, “Why do we do what we do?” It highlights the strategies your organization leverages to achieve your intended impact. A good Theory of Change helps avoid “Black Box” programming, essentially, failing to articulate how and why your program achieves the intended impact.
In “Zeroing in on Impact”, by Nan Stone, Paul Carttar, and Susan J. Colby of Bridgespan, they highlight the following guidelines for developing a Theory of Change:
An Actionable Intended Impact:
Links in a compelling way to your mission and vision for social change | Specifies the outcomes you seek to create for your beneficiaries | Affords sufficient control over outcomes to enable real accountability | Is realistic and achievable, given your capabilities | Is measurable on an accurate, timely basis | Provides an effective platform for making strategic tradeoffs, especially those related to program focus and resource-allocation decisions
A Coherent Theory of Change:
Identifies the most important needs of your chosen beneficiaries | Articulates the most important leverage points to meet those needs | Links your solutions to your beneficiaries’ needs through a chain of cause-and-effect relationships | Is empirically plausible if not proven
I like to think a strong Theory of Change connects the dots from Inputs to Impact.
Practically, it can provide a helpful road map for program leaders and if a new initiative, program, or grant does not clearly align with the strategies outlined in a Theory of Change, it’s easier to pass on a good opportunity that’s not a good fit for your organization.
Sources: Zeroing in on Impact by Nan Stone, Paul Carttar, Susan J. Colby
https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/library/transformative-scale/zeroing-in-on-impact
Do you really need a Theory of Change and a Logic Model?
Do you really need a Theory of Change and a Logic Model?
September 10, 2020
These evaluation tools are both very helpful, and serve related but separate purposes for an organization. Like most evaluation tools, the key thing to consider is: what question are we aiming to answer, and what type of data do we need to answer that question?
A Theory of Change aims to answer the question, “Why do we do what we do?” It relies on research, logic, your experience, and community feedback. Visually, it’s often represented in a flow chart or one page summary.
According to Dillhon & Vaca (2018), it should also include the mechanisms and assumptions behind your casual links. For example, they demonstrate there are many ways to work towards “ending hunger”, either an economic opportunity "route" or an advocacy "route". A Theory of Change offers the opportunity for your organization to call out your own unique, creative strategies towards that goal.
A Logic Model on the other hand aims to answer, “How do we do what we do?” It operationalizes your Theory of Change, and so therefore should be grounded in theory and logic, but is more about calling out your day to day activities. It summarizes what we have, what we do, how much we do, and what happens because of our work.
A Logic Model, in turn, is a great template to guide both your monitoring system and your staff work plans. If you’re able to filter your program logic all the way down to staff work plans, then you’re really implementing a full monitoring and evaluation system!
Sources: Dhillon, L., & Vaca, S. (2018). Refining theories of change. Multi-disciplinary Evaluation, 14(30).
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