Project Spotlight: Using a Theory of Change Tool to Support Effective and Sustainable Implementation
By Jennifer Schroeder, President, The Implementation Group
In 2011 I launched The Implementation Group to provide planning, implementation capacity building, and evaluation support to organizations seeking to effectively implement programs and practices. As an implementation consultant, I am often involved in the planning process at the beginning of implementation or to revisit alignment of vision, goals, and activities midway through implementation.
I utilize implementation frameworks to support this work, including the National Implementation Research Network Active Implementation Framework (AIF) (referenced in the TCI November 2018 bulletin), to support implementation planning and tracking. A large proportion of my work, however, often occurs during the Exploration stages of implementation facilitating the development or refinement of a Theory of Change to identify the non-negotiable sequence of steps that must be achieved to meet an organization’s goals. This early conceptual work is foundational to ensuring success and sustainability for effective implementation.
A Theory of Change is a map of steps or pre-conditions required to achieve a desired goal. Put simply, it is your theory of how change will occur. It can be either simple or complex and the steps must all logically follow in sequence. The Implementation Group developed the following framework to help facilitate Theory of Change development and provide anchors for the sequence of necessary steps required to achieve outcomes.
is grounded in evidence;
asserts the importance of evidence to guide implementation;
applies to the diversity of branch programs;
incorporates sustainability;
provides a user-friendly approach to KT; and
was already being used by CIHR, a fellow organization in the federal government’s Health Portfolio.
Since then we have applied the principles underpinning the KTA model toward the development of resources. For example, we created the Knowledge Translation Planner (also available in French). The KT Planner, which breaks down the phases in greater detail, presents many of the key planning steps that are familiar to organizations, such as identifying outcomes from the onset and establishing a need based on evidence. The KTA model goes beyond these and stresses both the barriers to, and catalysts of, knowledge use. The model also highlights the selection of evidence-based strategies that address barriers.
This template has been used with many of our project partners with positive results, including LAUNCH Together in Colorado. A Theory of Change planning process was facilitated with four local grantees in Colorado to plan activities and goals for a 4-year Early Childhood Systems Building grant. Systems-building work can be complex and involves multiple partners. Each grantee used this framework to map out the systems-building activities and outcomes necessary to achieve success in their community. Their resulting Theory of Change roadmaps have continued to be used as a blueprint for development of related implementation activities as well as any course corrections needed during the grant. Because they had vetted the necessary steps for success early in the process, each grantee could more easily adapt and negotiate implementation changes while staying aligned with their overall Theory of Change. This organizational Theory of Change is adaptable to multiple contexts, guiding the process of understanding how organizations change.
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