The Intersection of Program Planning and Evaluation

At the heart of nonprofit work is a desire for continuous improvement. The reason is simple: we care deeply about our work and we are striving to achieve a mission that matters. Whether it’s finding a cure for cancer, making sure a child receives an excellent education, caring for neglected animals, or anything in between, we want to get better at delivering the mission that drives us.The 2015 On the Verge report found that only 26% of Central Texas nonprofits reported they a well-developed process for collecting data used to guide program improvements. In the recently-published Nonprofit Effectiveness Framework, we’ve identified that a focus on internal evaluation is a vital ingredient for nonprofit effectiveness.A key tool for organizations focused on strengthening their performance is a Theory of Change model. Theory of Change is a roadmap that describes how a program’s offerings will achieve desired outcomes. It shows the logical relationship among the resources that are invested, the activities that take place, and the benefits or changes that result.Ultimately, nonprofits create a Theory of Change in order to provide direction and clarity by presenting the big picture of how change will happen and indicating precisely how each activity will lead to desired changes. The process of creating a Theory of Change helps you understand and articulate the connections between the work that you do and the end result of those activities. It also showcases how programs contribute to achieving the organization’s mission (a great tool for fundraising too!).As you create your Theory of Change, you will go through a process of answering the following questions:

• Is your program focused on the right things?
• Who is your target population?
• What resources are needed?
• What activities are needed and what is the dosage?
• What are your program’s outputs?
• What are your expected outcomes?
• What indicators are needed to measure progress?

These details are captured in a template that helps make the Theory of Change clear, concise and actionable. The visual depiction of a Theory of Change is called a Logic Model, and Mission Capital has a Logic Model template available for free download.The process of creating a Logic Model isn’t always easy; deep thought and collaborative conversations are required. However, the investment of time and energy is vitally important because the process brings together program planning, implementation and evaluation. It gets everyone involved in the program on the same page, looking forward together with an understanding of why we’re doing what we’re doing and what we expect the results to be.If your organization is focused on improving your internal evaluation practices or if you’d like to create a Theory of Change for a particular program, join us for the Outcomes Management Intensive (two-day course: April 26 and May 10, 2016) and keep an eye on more upcoming trainings.