6 principles for building effective theories of change and the Kumu features that make it possible

In How systems mapping can help you build a better theory of change, we discussed the importance of differentiating between the theory of change approach and theory of change diagram. The former is a process that involves bringing together relevant stakeholders to think critically about how change happens in their context and how they envision bringing about desired changes in that same environment. The latter serves as a visual representation of the insights gained and strategies developed through the overall ToC process.

Systems maps are useful tools that can used in place of traditional, linear ToC diagrams in order better capture the complex and unpredictable nature of social change. Using system maps in this way can bring ToC diagrams more in line with much of the thinking that underlies the overall theory of change approach. System mapping can also be integrated into a theory of change approach, particularly with the aid of Kumu, enriching the ToC process as a whole by helping to facilitate some of the emerging best practices for the ToCs.

In this article we’ll return to some of these best practices and link them to specific features in Kumu that help make them possible.

1. Avoid “proof by intimidation”

A frequently-cited complaint about theories of change is that they often result in large, complex diagrams that are intimidating and unintelligible to anyone who wasn’t directly involved in the process. Kumu helps address this issue in two ways:

• Each element and connection in a Kumu diagram can be assigned a description, which can be used to provide a longer explanation of any loop, element or connection where the terminology, context or rationale may not be immediately clear to others.
• The presentations feature of Kumu can be used to break up a complex diagram and explain each of its components, as well as the thinking behind them, piece-by-piece. Presentations are particularly useful in helping ToC diagrams to tell “a clear ‘story’ about the actors and factors at play in a specific context and on a specific issue.”

2. Articulate your assumptions

One of the most important elements of a theory of change process is the articulation and analysis of the core assumptions upon which a particular ToC rests. Furthermore, in order to assert a ToC’s validity, it is widely accepted that these assumptions should be based on evidence. These are aspects of a ToC that are difficult to incorporate into static diagrams, without extensive use of annotations that can make an overly-complicated diagram even more difficult to understand.

This is another place where connection and loop descriptions come in handy. Descriptions can be used to clearly explain the assumptions and/or evidence that lie behind the critical causal links and loops that are depicted in the diagram.

3. Evolve your understanding over time

Theory of change diagrams should not be seen as one-off products that are published and never touched again. Rather, they should form an integral part of an organization’s planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning processes and be regularly reviewed, updated and adapted over the course of a project or program’s lifetime. Kumu has two features that can facilitate this process:

• Issues provide each project with its own forum to discuss general issues related to the diagram. Use issues to facilitate an internal discussion about the theory of change and its ongoing validity (or lack thereof) as it is put into practice.
• Once experience and evidence emerge indicating that you need to make significant changes to your diagram, you can copy a project and then make your edits. This will preserve your original ToC diagram in a separate project making it easy to compare changes.

4. Open your map for public comment and critique

As with any theory, a theory of change diagram should be put into public view so that others can analyze and challenge its core assumptions based on their own experiences. By making a ToC diagram public on Kumu, you can use issues with a wider audience and also add the Disqus add-on making it possible to have comments on each individual element, connection and loop.

5. Add additional context

Theory of change diagrams can be done at different levels of zoom, ranging from a relatively small theories of change for single projects to large ToC diagrams for entire organizations or sectors. When working with larger and more complex diagrams, fields and tags can be used to indicate that specific elements or connections relate to different departments, organizations or regions. You can then use these values to quickly filter or highlight your ToC, seeing only the relevant parts.

6. Make it pretty

As the Hawaii Quality of Life project illustrates, you can easily make diagrams in Kumu look fantastic using custom decorations. While this sounds superficial, it can be useful when you have to make those all-important presentations to donors, board members and key stakeholders.

There you have it! If you’ve never used Kumu before, you can sign up for a free account here. If you’re looking for step-by-step guidance on how to use these features, make sure to read Kumu’s help docs.