Theory of Change: How to Navigate Towards Positive Change in Complex Social Settings. An Inspirational Guide for Development CSOs
Key Guidance
Faglight Fokus (2015), 71 pp.
"The purpose of this guide is to help managers and development practitioners to really understand what a Theory of Change approach involves and includes, how it can complement and strengthen already existing methods for planning and evaluation, and how to get started on this journey. It introduces the basic principles of applying a Theory of Change approach to planning, monitoring and evaluation, and explains how these principles can be applied for organizational planning and strategizing, for programme planning, monitoring and evaluation or for individual projects. It is important to note from the start that there is no such thing as ‘one theory of change’. There are as many theories of change as there are planners and development practitioners practicing the approach. In fact, applying a theory of change approach is a bit like applying principles of the French cuisine: There are a few basic principles to stick to, for it to be French cooking. The ways these principles are applied are as diverse as the number of cooks. Therefore, we have decided that this should be an inspirational guide rather than a set of recipes." (Purpose of this guide, page 5)
1 Introduction, 6
2 How to devlop and apply a TOC approach at organisational level, 21
3 How to apply a TOC approach at the project and programme level, 33
4 How to introduce and facilitate a TOC approach in our own organization or with partners? 45
Annex 1: How to prepare change pathways? 55
Annex 2: How to prepare a narrative to accompany your change pathway? 59
Annex 3: Practical example: How to use the Theory of Change to develop a more robust results framework, 62
Annex 4: How to use a TOC approach to develop an LFA and identify relevant indicators, 65
Annex 5: How can I use a TOC approach to document results of my work? 68
2 How to devlop and apply a TOC approach at organisational level, 21
3 How to apply a TOC approach at the project and programme level, 33
4 How to introduce and facilitate a TOC approach in our own organization or with partners? 45
Annex 1: How to prepare change pathways? 55
Annex 2: How to prepare a narrative to accompany your change pathway? 59
Annex 3: Practical example: How to use the Theory of Change to develop a more robust results framework, 62
Annex 4: How to use a TOC approach to develop an LFA and identify relevant indicators, 65
Annex 5: How can I use a TOC approach to document results of my work? 68
