Theory of change has become a common tool in the social impact sector. But what value does it add to our work? If we already have a vision, mission, and a strategic plan, why do more hard work to develop a theory of change? Building a theory of change requires time, energy, and a strong commitment from an organization and team. Here are a few reasons why it’s worth the effort.
It is fit for purpose
Social change is dynamic, long-term, and involves many actors and interdependent processes. Theory of change is intended to develop solutions to complex social problems. In its most basic form, it is an explanation of what, how and why change happens. When done well, it pushes us to ask important questions, like “what would it take to change?”, and “whose vision of change is guiding our work?”, helping us to expand our thinking beyond current circumstances. It also encourages us to be explicit about the underlying assumptions in our work – in other words, what we believe to be true about the local context, operating environment and how people will behave or react. This allows us to create a more realistic picture of the complexity of change.
Theory of change can be used at an organizational or project level, as a foundation for planning, design, implementation and evaluation. It can also be used throughout the project cycle as a tool for learning, reflecting and adapting, making it a useful tool in all stages of our work.
It is results focused
We often think about our work in terms of our activities, such as the training programs we run or the services we provide, but we are obviously not doing these things for their own sake. For instance, the long-term goal of most food banks is not to give away food – although that may be one of their primary activities – but rather, to provide a stopgap measure while collaborating and advocating for solutions to end poverty and food insecurity. The characteristic “backwards mapping” approach used in theory of change encourages us to think critically about the desired impact of our work and the steps needed to achieve it. This helps shift our focus away from activities, towards the outcomes we are aiming to achieve through our activities. We can begin by asking ourselves why we want to do this work. What fundamental change in state do we hope to bring about among our target population (our outcomes or results)? Only then can we decide how we will achieve this (our activities).
Theory of change provides us with a roadmap, guiding us toward our ultimate outcome. Our theory articulates the results we are committed to achieving, how we will achieve them, and why we think our approach will work. It also gives us a framework to communicate the value of our work and its impact more clearly to others.
It encourages consensus building and shared understandings
A theory of change is most valuable when it is community produced, led, and controlled, with the facilitator acting as an intermediary, rather than an expert. This means engaging in a co-design process where communities reflect on how they envision change and what they need to get there. The best processes are collaborative, inclusive, and occur in safe spaces where participants can talk about their concerns, acknowledge the need for learning, discuss past mistakes and agree on ways forward that may be different or better than how things were done in the past.
A well-articulated theory can also serve as a critical tool for continuity. When new staff, partners, funders, or other stakeholders come into play, whether it be during design, planning, implementation, wrap-up or final evaluation, all actors should be able to review, understand and engage with the theory at any stage in the process.
It is adaptable
Social change is non-linear and complex, which means that we need to be flexible in the ways that we address it. Shifting contexts, priorities, and actors can all affect our course of action and our ability to achieve results. Theory of change offers an embedded adaptability. As we conduct research, collect data, learn more about our operational context, and as unexpected events arise (e.g. Covid-19, changes in government funding or policies), we may find that we need to adjust our theory to maintain its relevance. Theory of change is built for this. It encourages us to recognize change as ongoing rather than having an end point. Knowing this, we can plan to revisit our theory regularly, adapting it along the way.
Some of the more rigid planning tools can be constraining when we feel the need to report on what we planned for at the start of a project, even though that plan may have lost relevance over time. Theory of change encourages us to anticipate changing circumstances and build new pathways as they emerge. This allows us to move beyond the idea that success can only be measured based on our original plan. In acknowledging our environment as dynamic, we can intentionally engage in a learning process knowing that we will experience challenges along the way, and that we should be looking for ways to readjust and strengthen our theory as we go.
It can help us to identify and challenge systemic inequalities
For many of us, it can be challenging to think outside the box. Despite our best intentions, we often fall into a pattern of designing based on what we do now. Theory of change pushes us to think beyond the status quo by encouraging us to explore hard questions such as, “Why do we do things this way?”, “Could we do things differently?”, “Could we be more flexible or more adaptable?”, “Who is included/not included in our work?”, “How is power structured in our work?”, “How might we need to reconfigure power relations to achieve meaningful change?” Questions like these can make us more aware and critical of our own perspectives, creating space for deeper questioning on the how and why of change. The goal of an effective theory of change process is to bring us to a place where we can engage in open and honest dialogue, question our assumptions, and see things through fresh eyes. This can also help to surface and provide an opportunity to reflect on vague or problematic language or approaches that may not be questioned without this level of scrutiny. In this way, theory of change can help us to more explicitly identify and challenge rather than reinforce and reproduce systemic inequalities, by understanding who is shaping the pathway to change, how the voices of the most marginalized are being centered and how inclusive and collaborative our processes truly are.
What next?
It can be helpful to think about theory of change as both a process and a product. It is a process in the sense that we are identifying a situation, analyzing the underlying causes of that situation, determining the long-term change that we want to see and working through the steps to achieve it. The product is both the graphic (or diagram – which can take different forms) and the narrative that we produce to represent our theory and communicate it to others (USAID, 2017).
A theory of change is our story of how we will make change happen. It reflects a group’s beliefs about how change will unfold and explains how communities will be different and better because of this work. If we put the time and effort into ensuring a strong theory at the outset, we will reap the benefits of clarity of purpose in our work, more efficient resource allocation, a culture of learning and, most importantly, transformative and sustainable social change.
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Genevieve Drouin is a project design specialist who has worked with UN agencies, government, non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations in Africa, Latin America, and Canada. As co-founder and partner at Involve Consulting Group, she leads and supports organizations through project design, management and partnership building processes as well as strengthening performance and risk management systems. She is also part-time faculty in Humber’s International Development Graduate Program, teaching the fundamentals of project design, theory of change and results-based management. Connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn or by email at genevieve@involvegroup.ca.
