{"id":34330,"date":"2022-05-18T14:34:49","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=34330"},"modified":"2024-11-26T13:35:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T18:35:23","slug":"theory-of-change-a-step-by-step-guide-to-developing-a-customized-plan-for-your-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/john\/2022\/05\/18\/theory-of-change-a-step-by-step-guide-to-developing-a-customized-plan-for-your-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Theory of Change: A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing a Customized Plan for Your Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 15 of 18 in the series Faithful Strategy Development<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Every Christian ministry wants to change something, such as a person’s spiritual condition or a problem in the community. A Theory of Change defines what sorts of activities your ministry should engage in to make those changes and it documents why you think the activities will work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theory of change I guide you through in this post was developed based upon what I learned at Harvard Business School<\/a> in their Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management<\/a> course (worth every penny! GO!!) and the one book I could find on developing a theory of change titled Purposeful Program Theory: Effective Use of Theories of Change and Logic Models.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing a Theory of Change is a process of examining what you need to do from the perspective of your beneficiary, pinpointing the activities that will get your vision fulfilled. The model\u2019s outputs are the positive steps that will bring about the desired external change, which is your impact on the world around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a really good theological discussion of how a theory of change applies to churches, please watch this video<\/a> by a Cambridge University theology professor who has a good sense of humour. He may well change your approach to evangelism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Process for Developing a Theory of Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no single model for what a Theory of Change should look like. For example, a traditional logic model is a Theory of Change that shows how inputs are converted into impacts. Here is a guide<\/a> for creating a Theory of Change based on a logic model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The version described in this post is the one that CCCC has used with great success. Its focus is not inputs but rather the conditions for mission impact that we want our ministry to create or improve, coupled with identifying and overcoming the obstacles that have prevented us (so far) from achieving the full impact our ministry wants to make. The process described below does not have a specific name; it is just known as a Theory of Change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: The Bridgespan Group has a guide<\/a> to develop a more detailed theory of change than the one CCCC uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The process for developing a Theory of Change is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Identify your ministry\u2019s desired impact.<\/strong> Clearly identify why your ministry exists by describing the impact you want to make. This is your Impact Statement (which you might be calling a vision, mission, or end statement). An end statement is basically a vision statement used in policy governance situations. I recommend everybody use it because it is so powerful. The traditional mission statement can be used if it is the only statement, but I recommend you do the work to create a vision <\/a>or an end statement.<\/a> These are true impact statements while mission statements are more process or activity related.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. List the conditions needed to make the desired impact.<\/strong> Identify the key Conditions that must be in place for your beneficiaries so your ministry can make its impact. The scan of the external environments is most helpful at this stage of the strategy development process. It will identify the factors you must consider that affect how successful the desired change will be. The way CCCC did its theory of change, Conditions column has a positive focus – the conditions that must be in place for your ministry to achieve what it wants to achieve. The column could also be called Problems to be Overcome, which is a negative way to address the ministry’s mission goal. This is the way I learned it at Harvard Business School, and CCCC’s first version of a theory of change took this traditional perspective. However, I thought the result was a document that had a fairly negative view of our members. We were much happier using this column for a positive description of what we want our work to achieve. An example given in a book 1<\/a><\/sup> is that the negative problem addressed by an anti-graffiti program could be recast as a positive opportunity to support creative street artwork.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Identify the obstacles your beneficiaries face.<\/strong> Identify all Obstacles that could prevent your beneficiaries from having the Conditions in place. You can also include contributing factors and opportunities in this section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Determine what solutions your ministry can offer to overcome the obstacles.<\/strong> Determine high-level strategies to overcome the Obstacles. This column could also be called “Corrections.”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Identify the assets your beneficiaries need.<\/strong> Identify the assets that those who wish to use your services will need to have to benefit from your services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Identify any other general needs your beneficiaries have.<\/strong> While not necessary for making an impact, your ministry might be able to help your beneficiaries by filling their other needs as you are able to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Determine the initiatives your ministry will undertake.<\/strong> Determine the actions your ministry will take in the way of programs based on this Theory of Change. This column is titled “Initiatives” to keep the at the list at the level of strategy. Specific programs will be designed as part of the initiatives. Think of this column as a number of baskets, each holding one or more programs within it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Decide the outcomes you wish to see. <\/strong>The outputs of your programs should result in a change outside of your ministry. For example, you provide education (an output) and the graduate gets a job (an outcome). Outcomes can be short or long-term. The short term might be the example just given – the graduate gets a job. The long term outcome could be the graduate escapes poverty. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Check that the logic of your theory of change leads to fulfillment of your impact statement.<\/strong> You should be confident that by addressing all the items identified in the Theory of Change, your Desired Impact will be made<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Using the CCCC Theory of Change Template<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This section will walk you through the above process in detail and show you how to complete the Theory of Change template provided. Have both the CCCC’s Theory of Change Template and the CCCC’s Theory of Change open while you read the detailed instructions that follow. These two documents will make each step much clearer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Download CCCC Theory of Change Template to use as a working document<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/a>
    Download CCCC Theory of Change 2023 to refer to as an example<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The template is colour-coded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n