Are you a social or environmental purpose
organisation wanting to create a long-term change with your activities and resources? Are
you being required to report on your impact but aren't sure where to start?
Hey everyone. My name is Chris Gaines, lead trainer at SoPact
and if you are a non-profit social enterprise, accelerator or impact fund
wanting to build an effective impact strategy, you're in the right place.
Currently, the two most accepted and widespread frameworks to document your impact measurement and
management strategy are theory of change and the five dimensions of impact by the impact management
project. Today's video will focus on how to define your organisation's theory of change. The
theory of change is the foundation for any mission driven initiative working on solving the
globe's most pressing social and environmental issues. Sometimes referred to as TOC, the
theory of change documents the impact that your organisation is seeking to achieve as well as
all the intermediate steps to make sure that your activities and resources are well aligned with
said change. The TOC should be defined before starting any new initiative or project and needs
to be revised periodically as your initiative evolves. In our last video, we get insights
into the impact strategy. check the link in the description below. You can also check out volume
one of our actionable impact management ebook called 'Groundwork' to learn how your mission is
connected to your theory of change. This video will help you make your impact strategy actionable
through the theory of change framework and in the future we will also discuss the second most common
impact strategy framework Five dimensions of impact by the impact management project. We will
also go in-depth into impact metrics election data collection strategy and impact reporting. So don't
forget to smash that like button, subscribe and click that notification bell, so you don't miss
any of the upcoming concert that we have planned for you. Without further adieu, let's jump into
the foundation of an effective impact measurement and management strategy, Theory of change.
Let's start by discussing what makes the theory of change such a fundamental step. All of the
operational decisions around what outcome data to collect, assess and analyse as well as the changes
that need to be made to improve the effectiveness of your intervention, all depend on your theory
of change. The key value of this framework is that it fosters accountability and awareness about the
potential challenges that your organisation might face while pursuing its mission. Now as mentioned
before, the theory of change ideally needs to be defined before starting your initiative,
project or program. These initiatives might have a broad scope such as higher education,
health and wellness or Financial Inclusion or they might have a narrow scope such as job
readiness, maternal health or housing loans. Whatever program structure you decide to use, make
sure that it's aligned to your mission statement and that you're not over complicating it. Even if
you work with partner organisations across a wide spectrum of issue areas, stick to the outcomes
that are a significant part of the scope of your organisation. Now we're ready to create a sample
theory of change for an organisation called America Works with the program skills development.
We will start from the desired impact and work our way backwards to the resources we're putting into
our programs to make this impact or change happen. Step 1: Impact.
The impact is the systemic change that you expect to see in the long term.
Impact usually takes a few years to happen, which makes it difficult to measure but it does give us
a great foundation to define the outcomes which are within our reach to influence and measure.
Step 2: Outcomes. Outcomes are the intended and unintended changes
that your stakeholders are experiencing or might experience with your intervention. In other words,
outcomes are the broader benefits we work to achieve. In our skills development example, one
outcome could be increasing job placement. How do we know that we're increasing job placement?
By keeping an eye on the number of people placed and retained after their on-boarding training.
A well-designed theory of change should include long-term, midterm and short-term outcomes. As you
demonstrate clear improvement in your outcomes, you are more likely to get other players
such as government or public and private partners to step in and to help you scale your
mission. Good outcome measurement requires designing a stakeholder survey that includes
baseline, mid line and exit line results. Step 3: Outputs
The outputs are the immediate results of our activities or products and they
are necessary for achieving the outcomes. Think of them as positive indicators that the outcomes are
on track. As per our skills development example, one output could be the increase in the number
of people graduating from a business training. In this case we are assuming that as more and more
people go through a quality marketable training, there is a greater possibility of an increase
in successful job placements. To dig deeper, collecting some demographic data along with the
service data can help to draw useful connections. Step 4: Activities
In this step, we answer the question what activities need to take place for each output
to happen. Providing people with high-quality training is one of the activities directly
aligned with our sample output and outcome. Along with quality skill building training, an
activity can also include resume preparation or interview preparation. All of these increase
the number of successful placement possibilities. Step 5: Inputs
Inputs refer to the resources or investment needed to ensure that the
activities take place. According to our example, we need quality course materials, skilled
trainers, a physical venue or online host, investment and more. So to recap, Number one, the
five components of a theory of change are inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact.
Secondly, the TOC needs to be aligned to your initiative project or program and stated
mission. Thirdly, the most important components to monitor are the outputs and outcomes. So make
sure to define relevant metrics and track results over time. Fourth, everywhere possible we should
include stakeholder data such as demographics and surveys to capture their feedback. Finally,
it's important to highlight that implementing an impact measurement and management strategy
requires some change management. Here are some quick tips to ensure success throughout
this process. Involve your key stakeholders. A stakeholder is any person benefitted or affected
by your activities. Communicate your intent to implement or improve your impact measurement
and management strategy. In the beginning, this might be done through information sessions
open to anyone interested in learning more about the new impact measurement process. Remember
that the desired outcomes motivate people. Be sure to expose the need for change to the
whole organisation and clearly describe how the change will benefit each area of the organisation.
Here at SoPact, we understand that organisations just like yours, face challenges with impact
measurement and management on a daily basis. So we've developed a platform that streamlines
the process, starting by documenting your theory of change. Well, thanks for watching everyone. I
hope you learned something new and I'm curious to hear what challenges you and your organisation
are currently facing when it comes to defining your theory of change. Drop a comment down
below and let's get the discussion started and don't forget to download your FREE copy of
our actionable impact management ebook. All links will be in the description below. Lastly, don't
forget to Like and subscribe to our channel so you never miss an upload. And until then, this has
been Chris Gaines. I'll see you in the next one.