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Theories of Change: What are they and why do we need them?
1) What are theories of change?
Peacebuilding (and conflict transformation) aims essentially at bringing about change. Peacebuilders work towards changing a given, often violent, situation to a better, less violent, more peaceful situation. The work of peacebuilders is therefore guided by assumptions of why and how a situation could be changed positively. These assumptions can also be called "theories of change".
According to John Paul Lederach, Reina Neufeldt and Hal Culbertson “a theory of change is simply an explanation of how and why a set of activities will bring about the changes a project’s designer seeks to achieve.” (Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning, Monitoring and Learning Toolkit, p. 25)
It becomes clear that theories of change are not academic hypotheses, but more practical and everyday expectations and explanations about how and why change happens in the context we work in. We can say that theories of change describe a process of planned social change. The theory of change consists of a number of assumptions that taken together explain how planned activities will lead to achieving the goals that were set.
It is very important to note that often theories of change are implicit, unstated and unexplored, i.e. they already guide our engagement, but need to be made explicit, meaning that the underlying assumptions need to be brought to the surface.
Also, programmes or projects may incorporate multiple theories of change, on different levels and in different dimensions. Think for instance of a large capacity-building programme that aims at enhancing local capacities for building peace. On programme level, you could formulate a broad theory of change, made-up of simple assumptions, such as: "Local actors are best-positioned to bring about positive change in their contexts. There are many resources for peacebuilding, such as traditional mechanisms for handling conflicts and knowledge of the context. At the same time, traditional ways have to be complemented as the nature of conflicts has changed over time. Therefore, skills and knowledge about other, we could call them modern, approaches to peacebuilding are needed." Within the broader programme framework, you might have developed different projects for which you can formulate more specifc theories of change.
2) Why are Theories of Change useful?
Theories of change first of all help peacebuilders to reflect why they are doing what we they are doing and to find ways of doing it in the way that bears most potential for positive change. Theories of change also help to draw logical connections between expected outcomes and the activities peacebuilders carry out. Thereby, more realistic and relevant plans of action can be developed. This also increase programme effectiveness that is tied to a clear understanding of the ways that change happens in the particular context.
3) How can we make theories of change explicit?
There are different ways to to explore what assumptions and expectations underpin peacebuilders' engagement. For instance, we can ask a simple set of questions:
Keeping the logic of results-based management (starting from what we want to achieve) in mind, it is very important to derive what tools we want to use (i.e. actvities we want to carry out) from our vision of success. The vision of success is a clear picture of what we want to achieve in the future with our engagement. In order to formulate a relevant vision of success, that is visionary but at the same time realistic and tangible, a clear and thorough understanding of the context of engagement is necessary. This will inform also the selection of one or several target groups, i.e. actors that can play a role as agents for positive change. Based on this, the vision of success can be formulated. Once this has been done, steps for reaching this vision can be developed.
Figure: Theories of change
Example:
Imagine that you want to work in an area where two communities have been at conflict for a number of years. There are occassional outbreaks of violence and one community tries to destroy the other's harvest every year. Before you start planning your initiative, you try to understand the situation: who are the main actors, what has happened in the past, how is the situation now, etc. You are also talking to the two communities and you realise that the situation is very complex. You can identify community leaders - traditional elders - as a very potential group as they have the trust of their respective community. Based on these inquiries, you can describe your vision of success as follows: The two communities have entered into dialogue and have agreed on ways for handling their conflict. The theory of change would now include assumptions that explain why and how we will reach the vision of success.
Some of our underpinning assumptions could be:
1. If parties have a thorough understanding of the conflict and of each other's position, they are better able to find a solution.
2. If community leaders/traditional elders from both sides meet and discuss, this will increase trust and enable an atmosphere conducive to addressing causes of conflict.
3. If dialogue participants are well-informed and have a better understanding of the situation, the likelihood to find a solution to the problems/non-violent and better ways of dealing with their differences is increased.
... and more assumptions can be found ...
From here, possible actvities could be:
1. Do conflict analysis with both communities, in particular their leaders.
2. Do an information campaign in both communities, highlighting the causes and consequences of the conflict
3. Give support in organising dialogue initiatives
... and more activities ...
Peacebuilding (and conflict transformation) aims essentially at bringing about change. Peacebuilders work towards changing a given, often violent, situation to a better, less violent, more peaceful situation. The work of peacebuilders is therefore guided by assumptions of why and how a situation could be changed positively. These assumptions can also be called "theories of change".
According to John Paul Lederach, Reina Neufeldt and Hal Culbertson “a theory of change is simply an explanation of how and why a set of activities will bring about the changes a project’s designer seeks to achieve.” (Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning, Monitoring and Learning Toolkit, p. 25)
It becomes clear that theories of change are not academic hypotheses, but more practical and everyday expectations and explanations about how and why change happens in the context we work in. We can say that theories of change describe a process of planned social change. The theory of change consists of a number of assumptions that taken together explain how planned activities will lead to achieving the goals that were set.
It is very important to note that often theories of change are implicit, unstated and unexplored, i.e. they already guide our engagement, but need to be made explicit, meaning that the underlying assumptions need to be brought to the surface.
Also, programmes or projects may incorporate multiple theories of change, on different levels and in different dimensions. Think for instance of a large capacity-building programme that aims at enhancing local capacities for building peace. On programme level, you could formulate a broad theory of change, made-up of simple assumptions, such as: "Local actors are best-positioned to bring about positive change in their contexts. There are many resources for peacebuilding, such as traditional mechanisms for handling conflicts and knowledge of the context. At the same time, traditional ways have to be complemented as the nature of conflicts has changed over time. Therefore, skills and knowledge about other, we could call them modern, approaches to peacebuilding are needed." Within the broader programme framework, you might have developed different projects for which you can formulate more specifc theories of change.
2) Why are Theories of Change useful?
Theories of change first of all help peacebuilders to reflect why they are doing what we they are doing and to find ways of doing it in the way that bears most potential for positive change. Theories of change also help to draw logical connections between expected outcomes and the activities peacebuilders carry out. Thereby, more realistic and relevant plans of action can be developed. This also increase programme effectiveness that is tied to a clear understanding of the ways that change happens in the particular context.
3) How can we make theories of change explicit?
There are different ways to to explore what assumptions and expectations underpin peacebuilders' engagement. For instance, we can ask a simple set of questions:
1. Understanding the context: These questions have been inspired by: International Network on Strategic Philantrophy (2003), Theory of Change tool manual, p. 7 (http://www.tcfn.efc.be/download.php?d=320, last accessed: 30/03/2009). |
Keeping the logic of results-based management (starting from what we want to achieve) in mind, it is very important to derive what tools we want to use (i.e. actvities we want to carry out) from our vision of success. The vision of success is a clear picture of what we want to achieve in the future with our engagement. In order to formulate a relevant vision of success, that is visionary but at the same time realistic and tangible, a clear and thorough understanding of the context of engagement is necessary. This will inform also the selection of one or several target groups, i.e. actors that can play a role as agents for positive change. Based on this, the vision of success can be formulated. Once this has been done, steps for reaching this vision can be developed.
Figure: Theories of change
Example:
Imagine that you want to work in an area where two communities have been at conflict for a number of years. There are occassional outbreaks of violence and one community tries to destroy the other's harvest every year. Before you start planning your initiative, you try to understand the situation: who are the main actors, what has happened in the past, how is the situation now, etc. You are also talking to the two communities and you realise that the situation is very complex. You can identify community leaders - traditional elders - as a very potential group as they have the trust of their respective community. Based on these inquiries, you can describe your vision of success as follows: The two communities have entered into dialogue and have agreed on ways for handling their conflict. The theory of change would now include assumptions that explain why and how we will reach the vision of success.
Some of our underpinning assumptions could be:
1. If parties have a thorough understanding of the conflict and of each other's position, they are better able to find a solution.
2. If community leaders/traditional elders from both sides meet and discuss, this will increase trust and enable an atmosphere conducive to addressing causes of conflict.
3. If dialogue participants are well-informed and have a better understanding of the situation, the likelihood to find a solution to the problems/non-violent and better ways of dealing with their differences is increased.
... and more assumptions can be found ...
From here, possible actvities could be:
1. Do conflict analysis with both communities, in particular their leaders.
2. Do an information campaign in both communities, highlighting the causes and consequences of the conflict
3. Give support in organising dialogue initiatives
... and more activities ...
chachabooth |
Latest page update: made by chachabooth
, Aug 25 2009, 2:11 AM EDT
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