For some project proposals you are expected to have a theory of change. Even if not though, it makes a lot of sense to develop one for your organization or for your project. Here are some reasons why a theory of change can be very helpful in planning and organizing your work.
Sometimes the work of NGOs is more driven by the hope of changing something than by the intention to achieve specific and predefined objectives. Developing a theory of change forces your organization to formulate realistic and measurable targets instead of castles in the air. While dreaming big can be good for morale in the organization, the place for this would be the mission statement. In the theory of change, you really need to get down to the nitty gritty of things.
A theory of change formulates what an organization wants to achieve and goes backwards from these results to identify strategies, activities and measures to achieve these results. If done correctly, an organization will have to reevaluate their past strategies to see if they are still the best to achieve new objectives– and most probably they will not be. Changes and adjustments can be made, leading to a more streamlined operation. Instead of just repeating what always has been done, new elements will be introduced.
When developing a theory of change you have to formulate the assumptions that lead you to a specific strategy to achieve your goal. If you are doing it right, you will corroborate your assumptions with external information like studies, articles and interviews and also take external factors into account. This way, you make sure that your assumptions are true and thus will lead to a successful strategy.
A good theory of change is measurable. You will choose indicators and milestones that are easily measurable and thus you can test your theory of change along the way and in the end. By measuring your theory of change, you measure the success of your project or your entire organization – you are evaluating. The results will be very helpful in reporting to your donors and stakeholders and for planning future activities.
Eva is based in Germany and has worked for nearly a decade with NGOs on the grassroots level in Nepal in the field of capacity development and promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. Before that, she worked in South America and Europe with different organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in geography and her field of research was sustainability and inclusion in development projects.
