Theory of Change Academy

Twenty six essays on Theory of Change, written from various perspectives by experts from the evaluation field.

A tutorial on four different ways to share your ToC: 1) User role, 2) ShareLink, 3) Embed, and 4) Export.

A tutorial on how to account for stakeholders in Changeroo and how to visualize stakeholders' roles.

Release log and roadmap for Changeroo.

An overview of all the guiding content within Changeroo.

A tutorial on four different ways to share your ToC: 1) User role, 2) ShareLink, 3) Embed, and 4) Export.

A tutorial on how to account for stakeholders in Changeroo and how to visualize stakeholders' roles.

A tutorial on the selection feature in Changeroo: to drag or copy multiple boxes simultaneously.

Instructions for software developers on how to integrate Changeroo in their own software.

A tutorial on grouping Changeroo: a visual aid to help you keep your Theory of Change organised.

A tutorial on nested Theories of Change in Changeroo.

A tutorial on moving a ToC to another organisation account.

A tutorial on the difference between active and inactive Theories of Change in Changeroo.

A tutorial on the difference between public and private Theories of Change in Changeroo.

A tutorial on how to share your feedback on Theories of Change within Changeroo.

An overview of all the tutorials within Changeroo.

A tutorial on how to manage user rights in Changeroo.

A tutorial on how to set up a new Theory of Change in Changeroo.

A tutorial on strategy narratives in Changeroo.

A tutorial on how to create relationships between blocks in Changeroo.

A tutorial on how to add boxes in Changeroo.

A tutorial on how Changeroo's menu works (web app).

One of the premier manuals on Theory of Change thinking. Available in English and Arabic.

This document provides practical suggestions with regard to what is required for a good ToC process, assessment of the type of ToC capacity that can be strengthened and what capacity is required to be a good facilitator.

The Theory of Change manual from USAID.

A good program ToC builds upon mid-level theories. This brief outlines ten steps for building and using middle-level theories.

This primer provides a synthesis of guidance specifically aimed at carrying out Theory of Change in processes in a GEF context.

This guide is a ten step handbook to creating a theory of change, built on many years of developing them for charities and funders. It focusses on the basics, the core approach of NPC Consulting in the UK.

A full comprehensive guide on how to compose a ToC, with a practical example, all written in Dutch

A manual on Theory of Change development in Italian.

This article discusses six major pitfalls that, if avoided, can help create actionable Theories of Change.

How complicated should the program theory be? While there are no definitive comprehensive answers to this question, Jos Vaessen discusses a number of principles that can inform this issue in this blog post.

This study describes the structure and facilitator's experiences of ToC workshops.

This blog post discusses developing a ToC process and how it may seem overwhelming at first. But the most important step is to start by making your thoughts explicit about how your organization creates societal value.

An instructional video taking you through some methodologies to develop a Theory of Change to guide the activities and evaluation of your social progamme/intervention.

A collection of tools and methods that is useful for multi-stakeholder purposes.

Images and cartoons that can be used when facilitating a ToC process.

In this article, John Mayne walks us through some of the basic concepts and terms within ToC thinking, and addresses the key challenges for successful application of ToCs.

This guide provides a practical overview of the process of developing a Theory of Change, focusing on using a stakeholder driven-workshop approach to achieve this. A ToC can support the development of interventions, bringing together key stakeholders

This blog post runs you through a clear step by step guide to developing a Theory of Change. It highlights the benefits of having one for planning purposes and also the need for including stakeholders when developing a Theory of Change.

Short guide for ToC development from project Oracle, which supports youth programmes in London.

This manual, created for the Casey Foundation's Making Connections initiative, defines theory of change using Casey's impact, influence and leverage platform, and shows community advocates how to create their own ToC by showing the relationships.

This guide is for planners and evaluators who are going to facilitate a process for creating a theory of change with community based programs and community change initiatives.

This guide aims to help you through your theory of change process and support you to produce something that strengthens the design and delivery of your projects, and gives you confidence in your approach to evaluation and learning.

This guide supports researchers who wish to work with a theory of change approach. Although written for Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA), it is also valuable to other research programmes that require a rigorous evaluation of impact.

This article outlines models for theories of change and their development that have proven quite useful for both straightforward and more complex interventions.

This publication explains how Theory of Change can be used and discusses the opportunities and challenges it brings. It presents five illustrative case studies.

Facilitating a ToC process entails various elements. From our experience there are two elements we find essential: the facilitation process and ToC capacities. These two cannot be separated in the process.

This IDS brief discusses graphic facilitation as part of intermediary facilitation processes and presents some useful visualisations to use.

This document presents a simplified process for developing a Theory of Change. It was developed by and for a program in Northern Mozambique.

This guide helps social purpose organisations to plan, monitor, evaluate and communicate their work in a way that makes practical sense of the complexity of social change processes and their measurement.

This paper looks at the description of connections between events rather than the events themselves, because this is seen as a widespread ToC design weakness. Using examples six structural problems are described. Different solutions are suggested.

The authors present a behaviour-based generic ToC model for both straightforward and more complex interventions. Examples are presented and the use of it during different stages of interventions are discussed.

Twenty six essays on Theory of Change, written from various perspectives by experts from the evaluation field.

After reflecting on the shortcomings of ToC and program logic in practice, the author proposes Program Design Logic (PDL) as an accessible and incremental innovation that may be used to determine if a program makes sense 'on paper' and 'in reality'.

This article discusses criteria for robust theories of change and how these can be used to undertake a vigorous assessment of a Theory of Change.

The authors demonstrate the use of nested actor-based ToCs, using the case of an impact evaluation of a complex police-reform program in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Actor-Based Change (ABC) framework provides a pragmatic approach to Theory of Change development in complex contexts. Unique about this approach is its focus on actors within a system.

Based on a literature review and expert interviews in the agricultural sector, this article reveals four challenges to mainstreaming ToC. Five recommendations arise to assist the mainstreaming.

This report identifies five common pitfalls that organisations fall into when using theory of change, and walks through five rules of thumb that will help organisations to use the approach to tackle complex problems.

A simple one-page tool for thinking about the Theories of Change that underlie public policy advocacy strategies.

Synthèse bibliographique réalisée dans le cadre du groupe de travail F3E COTA "Agir pour le changement".

Systems change entails a holistic perspective. The conditions holding a social or environmental problem in place exist at three levels, the explicit, semi-explicit and the implicit, all of which may need to be shifted.

In this article the authors examine the elements that make up a ToC, how ToCs can be visualized, and how ToCs relate to other organizational tools. Several suggestions are put forward to strengthen the existing ToC practice.

The authors develop a framework to ensure alignment between the ToC of cross-sector partnerships and the complexity of the problems they aim to address.

A poster from the Outcome Mapping (OM) Lab 2014 describing how Outcome Mapping is being used with Theory of Change to improve the design of a project developed with Logical Framework.

Despite a growing body of literature calling for more dynamic, flexible and “complexity-aware” approaches to monitoring and evaluation, few concrete examples exist of ToCs that take complexity dynamics within agriculture into account.

This paper attempts to help read and thus navigate processes of social change. It reviews different theories of social change (emergent, transformative and projectable change) and seeks to bring them together into something that is more integrated.

The paper describes the process of facilitating a set of workshops and the advantages and compromises needed in combining a ToC approach with Outcome Mapping.

This brief reveals the need for Theories of Change in every aspect of a programme or project be it on poverty alleviation of disadvantaged people or teenage pregnancy prevention pogrammes.

This review aims to determine how ToCs have been developed and used in the development and evaluation of public health interventions globally. It proposes a checklist for reporting on the use of ToC to ensure transparent reporting.

This paper provides an illustration of how Theory of Change can provide a basis for a coherent and integrated approach to developing skills and capacities of staff implementing a project.

In this blog post, Theory of Change for learning is discussed; and how it offers social organisations a powerful basis for communication and stakeholder engagement.

In this webinar video, Patricia Rogers discusses Theory of Change, what it is and why it is important.

This video presentation by the South African organisation DG Murray Trust, explains the reasons why a Theory of Change is important for the design and evaluation of social programmes or interventions.

This blog post by Isabel Vogel compares working with assumptions with peeling back the layers of an onion.

Logic Models are a popular tool that can be used to help conceptualize your change effort. This site by the University of Wisconsin presents a variety of resources on logic models.

In this article, Mayne develops a typology and framework for behaviour change interventions.

This article proposes ways to use programme theory for evaluating aspects of programmes that are complicated or complex.

An essay on Theory of Change on Beyond Intractability. This short essay provides a conceptual framework for articulating and mapping program’s theories of change, i.e. the core often implicit assumptions about how change happens.

Can a Theory of Change approach also be useful for funders themselves; and how does the tool differ in this setting?

Many managers do not have the tools to easily set out, document and communicate complex goals, activity strategies and intended outcomes. Developing a ToC can assist by supporting diverse stakeholders to work together and plan for outcomes.

This document contains contributions by different authors. It provides an overview of Theory of Change - what they are, how and why they are developed.

This guide, written for small and diaspora organisations as part of the Common Ground Initiative Peer Learning Programme, aims to demystify theory of change and highlights a few useful resources for further exploration.

What if the ToC has gaps, leaves out important things – or is just plain wrong? This post looks at the risks when a ToC is inadequate.

A webinar presentation on Theory of Change on the what, why and hows. This event was organised by The Environmental Leadership Programme (ELP) as a way to share more value experience on the subject matter.

This Working Paper provides a critical analysis of a series of CV&A cases from the Mwananchi Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) programme in order to form an analytical framework for developing theories of change (ToCs) for CV&A projects.

This is a brief poster presentation by Patricia Rogers that highlights on aspects of Theory of Change to consider especially for evaluation purposes. It also offers discussions and recommendations that would be useful to adopt.

This post looks more specifically at outcomes, and how they can be developed and written. It highlights the benefits of focusing on outcomes for project planning, implementation and evaluation.

A short guide on ToC development from Nesta's Centre for Social Action Innovation Fund (CSAIF).

This brief guide explains why grantmakers use Theories of Change to guide their questioning, unearth assumptions that underlie their work, establish common language, and develop strong action plans.

Why do people see the Virgin Mary on a cheese sandwich or hear demonic lyrics in "Stairway to Heaven"? Using video and music, skeptic Michael Shermer shows how we convince ourselves to believe — and overlook the facts.

A book that has been seminal to ToC practice. It has a wealth of clear examples and is very helpful in clarifying some recurrent debates on planning and M&E terminologies.

This guide to understanding and developing a ToC shows how a ToC helps to configure the conditions needed to achieve desired change, using the experience of a given context. This is done partly by making assumptions explicit and by analysing them.

Two articles that look at a range of types of change processes and how they can be represented. It starts with linear processes and ends with network processes. The second article elaborates further on a network perspective.

This paper presents the case of capacity building within schools in England. It shows how a ToC approach can deal with complexity. Such involved fundamental shifts in what outcomes were valued and the roles of actors and evaluators.

This paper argues that a Theory of Change approach demands a radical shift towards more and better learning in development thinking and practice. It draws on the research and workshop held at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in April 2015.

A review on ToC in practice based on interviews with staff from 25 different development organisations, nine donor agencies, seven international NGOs and nine research and training organisations.

This note provides key tools and methodologies used in international development and humanitarian assistance. It provides a brief and practical introduction to theory of change which draws from experiences from other organisations.

This report was commissioned by Comic Relief. It aims to draw together Comic Relief staff and partners’ experiences in using theory of change; to identify others in development that are using theory of change, to capture learning to promote debate.

This booklet presents the notion of "theory of (responsible) scaling". By applying ToC thinking to scaling, the authors provide guidance to think systemically and systematically, at an early stage, about how scaling happens and could happen.

In this blog Jos Vaessen examines what makes a good (program) theory and distinguishes between three levels: simple successionist causation, successionist causation with warrants, and causation with warrants and causal assumptions.

This report gives reflects on assumptions in a ToC process and offers practical pointers to identify the most critical ones.

This article presents three generic, complementary purposes of ToCs.

A report on gender relations in ToC practice.

A report that seeks to define ToC.

This report reflects on the desired level of detail of a ToC.

This document describes the Theory of Change approach and explains why it is a good fit for climate change adaptation programming. It highlights its differences with the more familiar logic model / logical framework (‘logframe’) approaches.

This working paper discusses a variety of concepts, approaches and tools for working with behaviour-based ToCs. It presents and discusses several different levels of detail for representing a ToC, including a new pathway-level ToC model.

The key message in this article is that individuals encountering a ToC for the first time should be open minded and should see the extent to which it can help them to be better strategic thinkers, and not think of it as only a planning tool.

This article reviews current debates around ToC and draws the conclusion that ToC can address shortcomings of the logical framework.

This document focuses on the role of visualisation in the ToC process.

Gender inequality manifest itself through a complex web of forces, socially, culturally and historically entrenched in societies and relationships and cannot be changed by isolated interventions. Theory of Change thinking might be a helpful framework

This paper present thirteen elements to institutionalise gender, which can be used as a basis to develop a ToC that addresses gender changes.

Two articles by Srilatha Batliwala on building a stronger M&E practice as a way to reach gender changes.

A section from "Reversed realities" presenting key questions to integrate a gender perspective in your ToC.

This case provides an illustration of a ToC for gender equality commitments.

This article/toolkit is especially relevant to gender analysis in ToC thinking. It presents a toolkit for the coffee industry.

What is the link between Theory of Change and the logical framework way of thinking and approach? What is the difference with a Theory of Action?

In response to the growing interest in and demand for ToCs, critique is also emerging. A list of the most commonly heard critiques is presented below. The post also includes an article by G. Albert Ruesga that takes a critical look at ToC.

This post defines a number of elements to indicate the quality of ToC thought and practice. Quality is a combination of the content, how it was constructed and its use.

An end-term evaluation of the Citizen Agency Consortium. How does the way advocates strategize relate to formal ToCs, which often fix agreements rather than being used as a living, guiding tool that helps reflection and adaptation.

Critiques the existing ToC practice and its emphasis on accountability, control and compliance. It stresses the notion of a ToC as a collaborative learning process and how a good theory for human change processes is as much art as it is science.

Does "total ownership" from different stakeholders involved in agreeing, developing and monitoring a ToC lead to ownership and attribution?

In this post we discuss how Theory of Change (ToC) thinking in general and Changeroo specifically can be of great value to organisations. We discuss the different functions of Changeroo and how these help organisations in realizing their mission.

In the webinar session, David Colby provides an insightful overview of Theory of Change methodology, and highlights the strengths of using such a tool for planning, strategy, organisational learning and evaluation.

This is a review of three conflict affected countries using theories of change. It found out that the process of articulating and reviewing theories of change adds rigour and transparency, clarifies project logic, and highlights assumptions.

This practice paper captures lessons from recent experiences on using 'Theories of Change' amongst organisations involved in the research-policy interface. The paper argues that Theory of Change will be inadequate in the context of complexity.

This paper reviews the concepts and common debates within the Theory of Change literature, resulting from a detailed analysis of available donor, agency and expert guidance documents. The authors followed up this review with fieldwork.

Hivos embarked on a process of action-oriented learning rethink and critically reflect on how to understand and accompany social organizations and local NGOs to develop social change in the South.

Building on "Theories of Change: time for a radical approach to learning in development", this World Bank blog post shares additional thoughts on the use of ToCs and how they might be improved.

This paper critically engages with the problem that much development thinking remains stuck in a linear planning model and makes clear why and how learning needs to be at the centre of adaptive development programming.

A reflection on the necessary capacities for ToC doing and thinking.

A case study of how JASS seeks to integrate learning in its Theory of Change.

This paper explores the relationship between complexity thinking, group process facilitation, and the use of Theory of Change. It suggests certain premises and metaskills we should always consider when facilitating ToC and complex group processes.

This document applies the institutionalisation elements identified by Levy (1996), as part of the internal assessment by development organisation Hivos of the institutionalisation of Theory of Change thinking in their organisation.

This ILAC Brief argues to look at causality as interventions that are contributory causes to certain results. ToCs show such contributory mechanisms. Combined with other methods, they explain how and why an intervention makes a difference.

Explores the application of causal chain analysis for systemic reviews. Includes an account of the causal nature of the connecting relationships in a ToC. Evidence synthesis techniques are discussed in the context of causal chain analysis.

An evaluation of the impact of The Daily Mile: a scheme in which children run/walk for 15 minutes a day, in curriculum time.

The paper offers step-by-step guidance on application of the Outcome Evaluation approach, detailing how to: document a Theory of Change; determine data needs and sources; collect data; manage and analyze data; and present findings.

The authors look at three case studies of how ToCs help impact investing move forward.

A special issue of the journal of the Canadian Evaluation Society, focusing on ToCs in relationship to evaluation.

Evaluating systems change is HARD. But impact models can be an enormously powerful tool to help philanthropy make sense of data, develop strategies, and communicate their theory of change more clearly.

A case about an evaluation study looking at ecotourism as a strategy for achieving biodiversity conservation.

This review aims to determine how ToCs have been developed and used in the development and evaluation of public health interventions globally.

This article describes the development and use of a rapid evaluation approach to meet program accountability and learning requirements in a research for development program operating in five developing countries.

This article describes the development of a complexity-aware evaluation approach in the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems.

This document introduces some of the key concepts of theory-based approaches to evaluation.

In this article the authors look at the points of connection and digression between Theories of Change and Realistic Evaluation. They discuss the importance of a contextualized perspective in evaluation.

This article presents a Theory of Change approach to planning educational reform initiatives with a focus on district level efforts.

This research paper shares learning from an agricultural research program that used participatory action research and Theory of Change to foster complexity-aware approaches to planning, monitoring and evaluating.

The Theory of Change forms the backbone of any social impact measurement system. It links the day to day activities in your organisation to your overall mission or long term goals. This is a key step in deciding what you will need to measure.

A podcast on how your Theory of Change can be adapted into an effective means of monitoring and evaluating your success.

This paper presents practical experience of implementing impact measurement within an impact investing context. It highlights case studies where investments have carried out evaluations and lessons learnt.

This article introduces theory-based stakeholder evaluation. Especially in evaluations of complex and complicated multilevel and multisite interventions, the presence of competing theories is likely and the this method may prove useful.

This is a two-part series on practical approaches to theories of change in conflict, security and justice programmes.

This roundtable was the second in a series of M&E roundtables organised by CLEAR South Asia on Best Practices in Data Collection. It provided an introduction to of experimental evaluation and quasi-experimental methods.

This paper identifies six principles for the successful application of a theory-based approach to impact evaluation.

This guide attempts to provide an overall framework with guiding principles for conducting an evaluation. The guide draws heavily on the experiences of the Centre for Development Innovation, particularly with its work around ‘managing for impact’.

This book makes available for practice the most important lessons from the evaluation of eight 'lobbying and advocacy' programs carried out over the past five years by alliances of civil society organisations working in international development.

Recognizing the importance of impact evaluation to UNICEF's work, the Office of Research - Innocenti, developed a methodological brief on ToC.

In this section, you will find some information on how ToC can be used to design and develop effective strategies. It deals with ToC and Programme Design: Building the foundation for strategic choices, planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning.

The ToC will assist you to have clarity on your outcome chain(s) and explains which strategies have been selected, why this set of strategies and not other strategies, and how they are expected to unfold.

This article addresses the question how to put a theory-based evaluation approach into practice.

This paper presents and assesses the use of theory-based research evaluation by comparing, contrasting and assessing completed evaluations that explicitly tested ToCs in four research-for-development projects. It presents lessons learned.

This case study tackles child labor has affected children actively participating in ToC development processes. The ToC processes effectively become part of the intervention.

This article reports challenges and lessons learned to develop and use ToCs in inter- and transdisciplinary research programs. It builds on the experience of the Wings research program (Water and sanitation innovations for non-grid solutions).

This presents the development of a ToC for youth development and adult volunteer leader development by the Boy Scouts of America. The research used expert input, visualization, focus groups, practice mapping, literature review, and evidence mapping.

In South Africa 2014, the MomConnect program was launched to strengthen the quality of maternal and child health services. This study aimed to unearth the underlying ToC and combined this with realist evaluation to unearth the underlying mechanisms.

Explaining the ToC of the "Culture of Continuous Learning Project", which focuses on quality improvements in early care and education programs in the US.

This paper describes the development of a ToC model for service user and caregiver involvement in a primary mental health care in rural Ethiopia.

Girls Not Brides has developed a ‘Theory of Change on Child Marriage’, a visual diagram that demonstrates the range of approaches needed to address child marriage and how they intersect.

A collection of examples of logic models and ToCs for several types of youth mentoring programs. The examples in this typology, while not completely comprehensive, encompass the vast majority of program types operating in the youth mentoring field.

The authors develop a ToC for how the systematic inclusion of women and men with lived experiences of climate change could strengthen climate action.

The article presents a detailed description how a ToC was developed for community mobilisation activities to prevent violence against women and girls.

A report on the Theory of Change of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

A report in Dutch in which Theory of Change is used to evaluate two programs on work placement of status holders (refugees, immigrants).

The key strategies and activities RSPO will implement, together with the support of stakeholders to transform the palm oil sector.

A case study detailing the Theory of Change of Food for Life Vrindavan (FFLV) in India. FFLV runs three schools providing free education, meals, skill training and medical help to over 1400 underprivileged girls in Vrindavan, India.

Most literature on “empowerment and accountability in fragile, conflict and violence affected settings” has been on Theory of Action. These are often confusingly termed ‘theories of change’. A clear distinction and more attention for ToCs are needed.

In this paper, the authors review Theories of Change used in efforts to improve quality and access in STEM education.

This article describes the use of a Theory of Change (ToC) model to develop a brief psychological intervention for common mental disorders and its’ evaluation through a cluster randomized controlled trial in Zimbabwe.

A case study of a US nonprofit organisation that used client feedback to test its Theory of Change.

This report explains the logic that underpins the Theory of Change for GROW and then presents an evidence review relevant to the assumptions embedded within it. GROW is an Australian organisation addressing disadvantage through employment.

The purpose of the review of the Rural Access Programme 3 (RAP-3) Theory of Change was to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect and critically review the programme from a holistic perspective.

An animation video by Dorcas International of its Theory of Change. Dorcas is an organisation that is aimed at creating sustainable change by addressing poverty at three different levels - individual, community and governmental levels.

This presentation highlights GRM's experiences using Theories of Change in its analytic framework for evaluation.

This reports presents a Theory of Change to end gender-based violence against women and girls. It outlines seven principles underlying the ToC diagram. It details evidence and provides example indicators.

This 5-minute video from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University depicts a theory of change from the Frontiers of Innovation community for achieving breakthrough outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

This short case explain the process Hivos went through as it moved from the 'standard' planning and reporting frameworks to ToC thinking. Available in English and Spanish.

This report looks at program-related investments at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It mentions the role ToCs play in this process.

A research paper that discusses how The Asia Foundation uses ToC in its organisation. In a blog post the author summarizes the 6 key findings of his research and paper.

A visualisation of Women@Work its ToC.

A visualisation of AgriProFocus its ToC.

A case study of Twaweza, which seeks to enable people in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to improve their quality of life through a citizen-centred approach to development and public accountability.

A case study of the Hivos Green Entrepreneurship Programme.

The article proposes a theory-driven approach to the design and evaluation of complex interventions by adapting and integrating a programmatic design and evaluation tool, Theory of Change (ToC), into the medical framework for complex interventions.