Theory of change
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Making a difference takes planning.
A theory of change describes how your organisation or project aims to bring about social impact. It is a multi-purpose tool, helping to articulate your mission, refine your strategy, and provide a roadmap for impact measurement.
Theory of change never fails to create value for charities and funders.
Through training, direct support, and free resources, we can show you how.
Want to learn more about our thinking on theory of change? Come to Theory of change in ten steps on 20 May 2020. A new event in our Leading Impact series of seminars.
Featured tools and resources for theory of change
Theory of change in ten steps
This new guide is a ten step handbook to creating a theory of change, built on many years of developing them for charities and funders. It will teach you the basics, our core approach, with the information you need to do any theory of change.
Virtual event – Theory of change in ten steps
A theory of change process encourages us to reflect on our aims and plans, to discuss them with others and to make them explicit. We see this process as the foundation of charity strategy, evaluation and communication.
Mechanisms – A missing component in your theory of change?
Theory of change mechanisms are where you describe how you want people to engage with your activities; the kind of relationship you establish; and the thought processes you want them to go through in order to achieve the outcomes and impact you want.
How to do a basic theory of change
James Noble introduces NPC's new thinking on theory of change.
Latest updates, events and training
How to adapt your strategy approach for times of change
Covid-19 means charities must develop adaptive strategies, but how can we do this well?
Understanding Impact
How to turn your theory of change into a plan for measurement, the five types of data you will need to pay attention to, and how to prioritise what to measure.
Four tips to write a good Theory of Change
Every charity or funder needs a theory of change, but it's not always a simple thing to come up with. Here Margery Infield, NPC Consultant, shares some lessons from a recent Theory of Change training event.
Theory of change in ten steps
This new guide is a ten step handbook to creating a theory of change, built on many years of developing them for charities and funders. It will teach you the basics, our core approach, with the information you need to do any theory of change.
How to do a basic theory of change
James Noble introduces NPC's new thinking on theory of change.
NPC Ignites: People, Impact, Purpose
What can you expect from our annual conference NPC Ignites 2019?
Help us make theory of change even more useful
Over the next few months, with the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, we are going to be rewriting and redesigning our guidance on theory of change and we want your help.
Thinking big: How to use theory of change for systems change
We think that, applied well, theory of change can support charities and funders to take a systemic approach to their work. This report identifies five common pitfalls that organisations fall into when using theory of change, and walks through five rules of thumb that will help organisations to use the approach to tackle complex problems.
Long read: Theories of change are here to stay
The theory of change approach has been around for a while now, and many charities use it to help them be more strategic about their work and their impact measurement. But it has had its fair share of criticism and skepticism over the years. Here, NPC's Impact Management Lead James Noble tackles some of these challenges, and remakes the case for charities to develop theories of change to help guide their work.
Developing theories of change for entire sectors
Reflecting on our recent work developing a theory of change for the prison education sector, James Noble explores the process, and outlines the potential benefits of this approach.
Find out how we can help you
We offer tailored support to help you create a theory of change that helps you work towards your mission and make an impact.
Get in touchSolarAid used the theory of change work that NPC did to really get to grips with how we needed to go about measuring our work.
