Theory of Change
A clear articulation of how your organisation, service, project or programme creates change…singularly the most important peice of work you will ever undertake…
Jon Rolls
In an ideal world, your Theory of Change (TOC) is something you will develop before anything…it is your guiding light…the compass that ensures you are on true north…and it should be enshrined in your organisational culture. If you get it right…it sets the tone for future success…because everyone connected to your organisation is on board with the mission and fully understands where you are trying to get to.
A TOC is not an operational plan…it is not a business plan…it is your route map. You still need a variety of plans and structures that make the change happen…these come next…once you have complete clarity on the vision and mission and purpose (often confused for mission or vision).
Let’s be clear…because clarity is everything!
- Vision: – the change you want to see in the future…what success looks like…if you solve the problem.
- Purpose – the reason for going on the mission…
- Mission – the act of moving towards the purpose to achieve part or all of the vision.
- Objective: Interim points along the way that moves you closer to achieving your mission and the overall vision
Example.
You identify a problem in your community, you want to fix it. Local young people with nothing to do…causing issues.
Vision – when you’ve solved the issue…all young people in the area have a clear sense of direction and there is no more anti-social behaviour
Mission – to build a youth centre that gives them a range of activities to help their futures
Purpose – To create a variety of activities and learning opportunities that are inclusive and engaging
Objective: Identify funding. Get planning permission. Appoint contractors. etc
So what does a TOC look like? Here are the component parts. But it is the order in which you tackle them and the questions you ask yourself that are critical to its success. By all means, have a go but sometimes the best way to approach this is to have a facilitated session, where you can stand back and be involved, but not lead…it’s an empowering way to ensure everyone in the organisation feels ownership of the direction…another critical factor in your future success.
Component Parts
- Vision
- Mission
- The Problem
- Key Audiences
- Routes to audiences
- Activities
- Measurable Effects
- Wider Benefits
- Key Assumptions
If you’re at the start of your journey, we can help take you through the process, as a founder, to ensure that from day 1, you have a clear focus on how you create impact and the change you want to see in the world.
If like many organisations, you’re at a crossroads, using the TOC tool as a ‘reset moment’ is also very useful. It can help to get you back on track and focus minds and is fundamental to how you structure and organise yourselves.
Benefits
- Clear articulation of the change you want to see
- Helps create a framework for organising your impact
- Keeps people on track
- Maintains business focus
- Helps avoid mission creep
- Funders often require you to have one
bcause canvas
£300
A 121 session to help you capture your business model on one page…this is the building block for a full business plan when the time is right.
£600
If you haven’t got one then how do you know you’re on track…
Most funders want to know you’re clear about the impact you want to make…this is the bedrock of any successful business…without it…you are rudderless! A minimum of 2 facilitated sessions and a report to ensure you have focus and direction.
financial model
£300
Aligned to your canvas and theory of change, a financial model to help you forecast is crucial…we’ll create a simple template model which you can populate to help you model the future.
