What is a Theory of Change?
Theories of change (ToC) are short descriptions of how an organization hopes to bring about the change it wants to see. Theories of change can be developed in many ways. Organizational theories of change include at least three elements: an articulation of how change happens in a particular context; a description of the organization’s role in helping to bring that change about; and a list of assumptions that are being made about the power of the organization’s work to succeed.
- An example of a “typical” theory of change in the humanitarian sector would be something like the following:
IF we deliver food assistance to famine-affected communities in country X, THEN we will reduce hunger in those communities until the harvest returns, BECAUSE we know that our standard food assistance package meets the minimum calorie requirements for men, women and children.
It is never too late for a theory of change; they are beneficial at any stage of the program cycle. The benefit of doing a theory of change is that it helps to sharpen the understanding of why an organization is doing what it does. It also helps evaluators test the assumptions that are being made about how change will happen and identify learning about how to improve delivery in the future.
What makes an RBB Ready Theory of Change Different?
An RBP-Ready ToC is not about organizational or project-level activities and efficiencies. The focus is on outcome-level changes for protection. In other words, it’s about understanding how real change of risk reduction manifests in the community.
In alignment with the key elements of RBP, an RBP Ready ToC is Community-Driven, Outcome-Focused, and emphasizes collective action. Most importantly, the protection risk equation is the essential tool used to help articulate the pathways needed to achieve a protection outcome.