A spider web with water droplets on it

From an idea to a prototype: help us test it!

By Kathryn Dingle 11 January 2022

NPC is looking to develop a new tool, product or digital service to support more charities to use a theory of change to learn and improve. We have created a mock-up using the no-code tool Bubble and we’d like to see if the idea is useful.

The challenge

We have been exploring how a theory of change connects to learning within an organisation. So far, organisations have told us that the process of creating a theory of change is valuable, but there is a disconnect between the theory of change and their day-to-day work. There is a sense that a theory of change is inflexible and separate to their learning.

Our potential solution

We took a deeper dive into how we might resolve this, and we now have an idea to test! We have been exploring how to use agile working practices within learning and evaluation processing. We are interested in testing a digital tool for connecting your learning and your theory of change is helpful. Below is a small snippet, but I don’t want to give too much away!

 

A screensht of the top of the Theory of Change embedding tool

Share your thoughts

Our initial testing has shown that in principle the idea could be helpful, but the proof is in the pudding. We want to explore whether the idea is worth taking forward.

Our one-to-one testing session would involve spending up to 45 minutes playing around with the tool and sharing what you like and dislike about it. Your insights will be used to make develop the idea and whether we take the idea further.

We are looking for staff/volunteers for small and medium charitable organisations, who have a theory of change and have some involvement in the evaluation/project planning (whether as a project manager, team member or within an evaluation team.)

If you are interested in attending, please book a slot via Kathryn’s Calendly or email kathryn.dingle@thinknpc.org

What’s next for our work?

Once we have a clear idea of whether this is something that staff/volunteers of charities will use and benefit from product, we will look to build, iterate and launch an official product. I will be sharing the insights and ideas as we go, so watch this space! In the meantime, we would love to hear your comments, or ideas.

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