Effective Theory Of Change Social change theory

VIDEO DESCRIPTION:

Play, download and edit the free video Effective Theory Of Change Social change theory.

Theory of Change (ToC) Example explains your organization's intended path to impact by outlining causal linkages in an initiative (i.e., its shorter-term, intermediate, and longer-term outcomes). The identified changes are mapped in an “outcomes pathway” that shows the logical relationship and chronological flow between outcomes along the path to the desired impact. The links between outcomes are explained by “rationales” or statements of why one outcome is thought to be a prerequisite for another and can be updated on the basis of evaluation evidence.

Five Must Address Points for an effective Theory of Change:
To understand our concept better, let us take a simple example. The Green Foundation is working towards breaking the cycle of poverty in America by job Creation. One of the programs is skill-building classes for post-high school students from underserved communities. Now let us put Theory of Change for this Skill Building Program to the test.

1. Stakeholder & Stakeholder Theory Of Change
Who is benefiting from your work? And Why will it work?
Here stakeholders are identified as post-high school students from underserved communities in the USA. Why do you think your program is needed and will work for your stakeholders? We assume that underserved community students are most affected by the unemployment that your investment strategy or business aims to address. Do your due diligence. This is where you also have to follow existing evidence or ask your community for the gaps your program is going to solve by stakeholder feedback.
Is unemployment is one of the burning issues of your community?
Do they have demand for the skill training you are providing?
Are local companies ready to hire students after they finish their training?
2. Program Goal
What result are you seeking to achieve?
The goal of the Green foundation is to break the poverty cycle in the USA. Short term goals will be the unemployment rate going down in communities they serve added with other life skills. A good theory of change doesn’t simply reflect what an organization is already doing. It rather articulates what the organization wants to be held accountable for. Thus, make your goal specific and set an accountability target.

3. Duration
How soon will you achieve the desired results?
Define the time period of your program and how soon will you be able to see the result? It depends on how long is the skill-building program. There are many variables, such as resume building, interview preparation, hiring companies aligned, skills match to the industry requirements, no other social or cultural boundaries are identified. Plan to collect and analyze year after year data to see the progress.
4. Input and Activities
How will you achieve and demonstrate your results?
Describe the activities and resources you will allocate to address the problem and create an impact. Here identifying the students and their strengths, teaching skills, training teachers, engaging hiring companies, etc. all are key actions that you will take as part of your strategy for creating impact.
5. Context, Limitation, and Risk
Where and under what circumstances will you do your work?
Describe any limitations to your theory. Consider your constraints such as economic distress and low hiring by the area companies, or health outbreak such as COVID19. There could be things outside your control. Consider the risks and limitations for achieving your goals. Make a plan to avoid and work-a-round the risks.

BONUS: HOW WILL YOU EVALUATE YOUR THEORY OF CHANGE?

A theory of change must clarify what results will hold an organization accountable?

That is why Sopact Impact Cloud® allows our clients to build Impact Strategy with Theory of Change or Impact Management Project at any stage of their Impact Measurement journey. Impact strategy and success metrics can be continuously updated to reflect learning and new situations. Continuous learning from the data takes them to Impact Management from one-time measurement and stories.

So,
Avoid being too ambitious with your first theory of change. A theory of change should be seen as a working document with year after year long-term impact learning in mind.

Thanks for watching everyone. I hope you learned something new, and I’m curious to hear what challenges you and your organization are currently facing when it comes to building an effective Theory of Change.

#theoryofchange #socialimpact #monitoringandevaluation

Download, play and edit free videos and free audios from Effective Theory Of Change Social change theory using RedcoolMedia.net web apps