Join us to explore theories of change and how to put them into action to transform the way you understand, implement, and evaluate how your work makes a difference to the people and communities you care about.
- Tuesday 26 September 2023, 12.30–1.30pm (BST)
- Live on Zoom. Free, registration required
Are you a programme leader in a third sector or public sector organisation looking to tell a better story of your organisation’s impact?
Do you want to make evidence-informed decisions and build a culture of continuous learning and improvement?
Perhaps you’re tasked with developing a theory of change for your work or reporting on an existing one.
This is a webinar for you!
What we’ll cover:
What is a theory of change?
A theory of change is not as grand as it sounds – it’s just a term that refers to making explicit the thinking behind why a programme, project or intervention will make a difference to the people or communities it seeks to serve.
A theory of change focuses on what’s important for the people and communities you care about: it sets out – or maps – how the activities your initiative delivers are going to contribute to the outcomes and impacts that are important to them.
This is especially effective for complex change where numbers alone can’t demonstrate the difference your work makes, and where people are at the heart of change.
Creating a theory of change
Every initiative has a theory of change – they just aren’t always made explicit or written down.
We’ll talk about the process of collaborating to generate a shared understanding of how your initiative makes change in the world, and introduce different approaches to generating theories of change, with a focus on practical ways of doing this you can apply in your own setting.
How to use a theory of change
At Matter of Focus, we’ve helped more than 150 projects, programmes and organisations to map, track and report on how the activities they deliver reach the outcomes that are important to them.
We know that theories of change can be useful tools for understanding, learning, monitoring and evaluation, and as a communication tool to share your work and its potential impact with stakeholders.
We’ll share how to apply theories of change in your day-to-day work so that you can build capacity to learn and improve.
Examples of project, programme and strategic theories of change
Through showcasing successful theories of change across various scales – from small projects to large-scale strategic initiatives – we will look at how organisations have designed and used theories of change and evolved them to suit changing circumstances.
Cultivating learning, improvement, and better decision-making
The work to develop and use a theory of change improves efficiency, effectiveness and the ability to attract funding. Creating and using this approach helps foster a culture of learning and continuous improvement. It can also become a cornerstone for evidence-informed decision-making, making sure you stay focused on what matters, deliver the best work you can, and are able to demonstrate your impact.
Who should attend this webinar
Programme leaders, project managers, decision-makers, and change-makers from third sector and public sector organisations who want to make the best difference they can and understand their impact.
Please register to join us live and to receive a link to the recording.
Coming soon…
Our next live webinar, on 28 November, will be about helping you get to grips with understanding and working well with the unique context of your work. Sign up to our mailing list to receive a notification of when this webinar goes live for registration.
