Theory of change in Public Sector Innovation : Join our series of conversations !
Hosted by La 27e Région, this series of conversations is part of the Pushing the Boundaries of Public Sector Innovation (PB PSI) community of practice (CoP). We are people working in- and alongside public sector organizations who share a curiosity and commitment to work more ambitiously, systemically, and respectfully on the biggest social and ecological challenges of our time. These posts are written from the diverse perspectives of different members of the CoP as we learn and explore together. Find out more about the project and/or join the CoP, here.
UPCOMING Session 3 : February 6th at 4:30 to 6 pm CET (Paris time, check your time zone here)
- « Theories of change and the risk of de-politicization », a case study with Céline Robert, politist at Sciences Po Lyon
- Dialogue, emerging questions, and insights from our conversations
- More information below
What is a theory of change, sometimes named « ToC » ? It’s a comprehensive description of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. Originally promoted by sociologist Carol Weiss (1995) and then popularized through a large range of international institutions and NGO’s, it’s a way to open the « black box » of innovation, thus to unlock multiple opportunities to measure and improve its outputs. There are linear, logic-model approaches to ToC, but in our work we are interested in how theories of change are used to work with complexity, systems, and social innovation. There is a great short video here introducing theories of change, and a written description and some additional resources shared in the MaRS Living Guide to Social Innovation Labs here
Despite its potential, very few public sector innovators are familiar with ToC. Most of us rarely make our assumptions and vision of change explicit, or how we think our work will contribute to this change. We strongly believe that what we need for paradigmatic transformations is a new kind of ToC, more adapted to support higher impact, ecological responsible and socially just public sector innovation work.
In order to dig into these challenges with you, we’re launching a series of three explorative conversations between November 2023 and January 2024. Each conversation will start with a case –all French-based this time, but it’s an invitation to bring other stories from all over the world into the conversation !
Session 1 : November 29th at 4:30 to 6 pm CET (Paris time, check your time zone here)
- « Short reminder about the basics of ToC »
- « Are markers (see below for description) the new ToC ? », a study case from the City of Nantes in France, with Magali Marlin.
- Dialogue and emerging questions
Session 2 : December 7th at 4 :30 to 6 pm CET (Paris time, check your time zone here)
- « Cultural resilience, a new step for ToC ? », a case study from the Reunion Island, French overseas territory, with Isabelle Huet. See below for more details.
- Dialogue and emerging questions
Session 3 : February 6th at 4:30 to 6 pm CET (Paris time, check your time zone here)
- « ToC and the risk of de-politicization », a case study with Céline Robert, politist at Sciences Po Lyon
- Dialogue, emerging questions, and insights from our conversations
Be aware that this is not a course about ToC, rather a community of practice designed for public sector innovators that are questioning and working with their theories of change to learn with one another. Apart from reminding some basics at the beginning of session 1, our goal is to open new boundaries, insights, ideas or tips to go further with ToC. Curious people from other sectors, or early in their thinking about ToC are warmly welcomed to join us as well as listeners and learners. To find out more about the applied research project that this series of conversations is a part of, and to join upcoming conversations, please visit our website.
More details about session 1 / Nov. 29th
Speaker : Magali Marlin
Magali is in charge of innovation, foresight, open governance in the Direction in charge of public transformation at the Metropolitan Area of Nantes, France. Magali has a background in political sciences and urban policy, and began her career in Urban agencies and at La 27e Région.
Case study « Are markers the new ToC ? »
The City and Metropolitan area of Nantes (NW of France, 670 000 inhabitants) is one of the most rapidly growing place in France. Just transition is presented like the top priority of the current mayor, Johanna Roland. But how to make sure that this goal finds its concrete transcription in all thematic policies : urban, social, economic, transportation, etc ?
In May 2021, a strategic document titled « Public policies 2021–2026 : principles, lexicon and method » introduced a new concept called marker. Some could find many similarities with the concept of theory of change, but with a less « theoric » sonority. What is marker about ? Markers « define the singularity of the project supported by all the thematic policies ». Technically, six markers have been defined : two « pillar markers » (« Ecological transition » and « Equality and social justice ») and four « making markers » (« Citizen dialog », « Proximity », « Experimentation & innovation », and « Alliance of territories »). All of them must be integrated in the management strategy, and in the design and the implementation of the public policies of the city.
Each marker is documented in a few pages, describing « why, who, and how » it’s concretely implemented on the ground. The content of each marker evolves on regular basis through a feed-back process. The work includes ongoing evaluation and shared narrative, with the goal of sharing it as largely as possible through internal and external communication, creating coherence and a common culture with all the civil servants (7300 at the metropolitan level).
A continuous facilitation process is provided by the « Department in charge of dialog and public transformation » through a M6 group gathering all the people responsible of each marker, growing in maturity together. M6’s activities include experience sharing and co-development as a way to improve the impact of all the markers. Six meetings have been organized in one year.
Half of the current mandate has been reached now. Questions for the future include : How to create more impact with markers ? Are they a sort of ToC, or could they become ones ? What can be done to consolidate common culture ? How to make all the change more visible ? Do we still need M6 in the future, and what for ? What about training to the markers ?
More details about session 2 / Dec. 7th
Speaker : Isabelle Huet
Isabelle is a teacher on Réunion Island, a French overseas department. She descends from the early settlers known as “Yab,” who were the descendants of the poor whites who came to seek fortune in Réunion but had arrived too late in the early 18 century. She led the “cultural resilience” component of an innovative program called Isopolis, which lasted 20 months and ended in january 2022, which was a community-based initiative aiming to develop a new ecological, economic, and social model for the island.
Case Study: “Cultural Resilience: A New Direction for Theory of Change ?”
Approximately 4% of France’s population resides in its overseas departments and territories. Since these regions were colonized between the 16th and 19th centuries, many of them experience an identity crisis that significantly hampers their ability to foster sustainable development, harmonize relations with mainland France and among established communities, and also to integrate newcomers.
On Réunion Island, situated in the Indian Ocean, 40% of its 830,000 inhabitants grapple with material and social deprivation — triple the rate of mainland France — leading to issues such as escalating structural unemployment and domestic violence.
For Isabelle Huet, a transformative experience occurred during a trip to Johanesbourg. She recognized that envisioning a future was feasible when colonized populations reclaimed their cultural heritage and the history of their ancestors and lands. This awareness is a catalyst for enhanced resilience, manifesting through civic engagement, self-confidence, and both individual and community empowerment.
Isabelle has undergone various experiences that have solidified her belief in the potential for change, not just by recounting these narratives but also by articulating the emotions and taboos that imprison people. Over the past two years, she has concentrated her efforts on civil servants — who constitute nearly one-third of the island’s jobs — to develop a 2–3 day training program in collaboration with the National Centre for Civil Service Training (CNFPT in French).
The training encompasses several stages, with the ultimate objective of restoring and pacifying local society:
- Self-recognition: Understanding the aspects of oneself reflected in others and vice versa; acknowledging both individual community histories and shared history to foster unity.
- Reconciling hybrid identities: Finding one’s place within the Francophone sphere and embracing Réunion’s diverse heritage.
- Embracing collective narratives: Highlighting the significance of artistic and literary expression within and across communities; personal stories are intertwined with our shared myths and folklore.
- Colonial and Réunionese chronicles: Acknowledging Réunion’s history through oral traditions and recently uncovered accounts, which supplement the colonial narrative taught in schools. To truly comprehend Réunion’s past, it’s crucial to demonstrate how these narratives interweave, enabling residents to tell their own stories.
- Understanding individual resilience mechanisms: Delving into how people overcome adversity.
What insights can this approach offer for future Theories of Change that are more closely aligned with cultural resilience?
More detail about session 3 / Feb 6th.
Speaker : Cécile Robert, Sciences Po Lyon (France)
Theory of change is not just about innovation tools and expert practices -it’s also about the quality and the richness of the democratic debate. If we want more ambitious visions for our ToCs, then we need more democratic conversations, open on new basis and ready for new political imaginaries. But how to get there when all is stuck into polarization, confusion and propaganda ? Whether it’s about pandemics, breast cancer, discrimination, development aid, social justice and ecological transition, many public issues are now depoliticised, which means they are not discussed as societal choices but confined from democratic debate. How does the depoliticization system look like ? How does it concretely happens ? How can we better identify it, and design new paths for more ambitious theories of change in the democratic debate ? Our conversation will start with sociologist and politist Cécile Robert, senior lecturer in political sciences at Sciences Po Lyon, author of many reports and books on public debate and democracy.
https://univ-droit.fr/universitaires/21947-robert-cecile
Find out more about our project !
