Some tips on using the Theory of Change in final reports
As DeSIRA projects come to an end, project managers feel the pressure to document so-called ‘impact’. This pressure is augmented by the difficulty that short-term projects face in impacting systemic change. Not only is systems change hard to measure, but when it is evident it is difficult to demonstrate attribution to a single project. This is where it is useful to revisit the project’s Theory of Change (ToC). Many ToCs are developed during formulation and may be updated halfway through implementation, often as a recommendation of external reviewers (like ROM missions). Producing a final ToC has some advantages for reporting. Here are some tips to consider:
- Unpack outcomes into three categories: a) immediate ones that were easy to document (eg stakeholder satisfaction with project interventions, such as an exit survey following a field day to visit a demonstration); b) intermediate outcomes that show the types of behaviour changes by stakeholders that may lead to modified practices, relationships, advocacy (eg stakeholders committing to collaborating in a value chain, policy advisors expressing an interest in regulation changes; and c) long-term outcomes that may lie beyond the duration of the project but that signal what impact could look like (eg enabling conditions that a project may have contributed to, such as a change in narrative among researchers and policymakers).
- Revisit the assumptions: expressing the assumptions along the sequence of activities, outputs and outcomes of a project is central to a ToC [as explained in this Brief “What is a ToC”]. Expressing assumptions gives project managers license to flag risks, some of which their actions can minimize, and others that are contextual and hard to shift. However, revisiting assumptions is a useful way to unpack what happened, what barriers limited change, what unexpected catalysts emerged, etc. For an example of ToCs developed at the end of a project, visit the collection here -there are two examples in the Intermediate group].
In summary, unpacking the outcomes and revisiting the assumptions are both effective means to describe, contextualize and communicate the complex nature of the intervention. A final ToC – often referred to as a Theory of Action- is an effective way to drive this home.