Customizing a Theory of Change for your Network (Part 2)
This is Part two of a long form article on developing a network specific theory of change describing how your network acts collectively to create impact. Part one focuses on the challenge of communicating a cohesive story and what’s important to include in a description of how your network takes action to shape systemic change. Here in part two we share the story of one network’s journey to develop a narrative explaining how they create impact in their field. Read on to see the process, template, and examples that you can use with your network.
Co-creating your Network’s Theory of Change
A robust theory of change narrative articulates how and why a network’s activities are designed to generate desired outcomes for particular people and situations. The narrative includes the beliefs, perspectives, and ways of being that inform people’s choices along the way. This foundational understanding of how change happens becomes the basis for data collection, impact evaluation, and network success stories.
Now that we know we’re looking for a description of a change process and the context that supports it, how do we bring people together to illuminate key transformations and describe what’s essential to realize their network’s purpose?
Converge facilitated an online workshop for the Alliances for Action (A4A) team to think together about how their work contributes to the changes they aspire to see. We created an experience for the team to collectively articulate the transformation process. The activity focused on identifying important shifts — like the stages of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly — and highlighted the network’s role in maintaining a generative context conducive to change emerging.
What is the change you want to see? How can you foster it? What conditions are essential?
The first step is to understand the challenges in the current state of the system and what system level changes are desired. These are the bookends of the transformation process envisioned in the network’s purpose. (see orange and navy sections of the image below)
To prepare for the theory of change workshop, we shared network cultivation concepts from Impact Networks to establish common language, and invited A4A team members to share their visions for collaborative outcomes through an internal survey. We asked questions to help us understand the starting conditions before A4A introduces their network approach and the changes their work fosters in communities. To explore the initial state and desired end state, we asked:
- What’s meaningful about your work?
- What does success look like?
- What would be different in the world if the network’s vision was realized?
- What are the challenges at the beginning of a project?
Prior to the workshop, we used responses from the survey to pre-populate Mural board sections on current state and system impacts. We began the workshop by checking for agreement on descriptions of A4A’s projects at the start and the desired outcomes.
Then we invited teams to identify the key shifts within each of the strands of the general networks theory of change: connecting, coordinating, and collaborating. These follow Converge’s hypothesis that networks shape change by intentionally connecting people, coordinating their existing work and supporting collaborations across ecosystems to create positive impacts. Over time this continuous process of cultivating relationships and action based on shared purpose leads to system wide change.
Participants worked in three groups via Zoom breakouts. Each group discussed one section at a time and rotated through all three segments: connecting, coordinating, and collaborating. In the first round conversation, groups generated content. In the second round, teams added content to what their colleagues had begun. In the third round, teams added commentary with icons indicating support, questions, or potential pitfalls. After engaging in all stages of the theory of change, the whole team reunited for a debrief discussion to reflect on their work.
Experiences and Outcomes
“This workshop has shown us that we have many clothes in our closet. By taking them out, getting rid of what doesn’t fit, and organizing together what we have, we see how beautiful we can look when we get dressed and go out.” ~Alliances for Action team member
This is one example of what a summary Mural board looks like at the end of a theory of change workshop. The next step is to synthesize comments, drawing out key threads of the narrative.
Once complete, the theory of change for a network will look different from a familiar logic model where predetermined inputs and activities are expected to generate predetermined outputs and outcomes. This type of linear change formula operates like an assembly line. In contrast to this mechanistic approach, a network theory of change focuses on a deliberate process to create conditions for emergent outcomes. Using a biological or living systems approach, a network theory of change focuses on how the network curates a context ripe for change. The process invites members to see how they can intentionally catalyze shifts that move the system in the direction of the impact they hope to see.
You can find Alliances for Action’s published theory of change here and on their website.
Having engaged multiple networks in the process of clarifying their theory of change, we observe that participants emerge from these discussions feeling energized and refreshed by the conversations. After completing the workshop, we typically hear team members sharing insights like:
- Transformation happens through our connections.
- Our role is to build trust and create a safe place for dialogue.
- As an honest intermediary, sometimes we say things people don’t want to hear. It’s important for us to be courageous and unambiguous.
- We see the power of language to help us speak clearly and demystify our approach.
- We can share our work in a visible and digestible way. Then document what we do, be patient, learn, and trust the impact will come.
Closing Thoughts
We agree, it’s challenging to communicate how we collectively approach shaping change in complex systems! Especially when engaging from a variety of places within the system, where the landscape often looks different to different people. A theory of change workshop is one way participants can come together around the central question, how is our impact network being intentional and strategic in organizing our activities to foster change? Conversations like these help groups uncover ways of participating in the system, working through relationships, and taking aligned actions to shape the changes they want to see.
What other tools and practices are you using to help people shape change together?
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In the first half of 2021, network consultants Carri Munn and Amelia Pape engaged with the International Trade Centre to develop Alliance for Action’s network approach to collaboration. Our collaboration developing network specific theories of change with Alliance for Action and more recently with several other networks informed this article.
Written by Carri Munn in close collaboration with Elsa Henderson.
Many appreciations for the contributions of Amelia Pape, Gwen Beeman, and Claudia Piacenza.
