Our newest team member, Nate McManus, recently sat down with our team to learn more about our process to revise our theory of change. This post captures what he learned from those conversations.
At ImpactED we are always looking for new opportunities to expand, grow, and improve our work. To that end, we are constantly asking ourselves, how can we best support our partners as they work to accelerate meaningful change?
Through conversations with our partners over the last couple years, we learned that the way leaders of mission-driven organizations are thinking about their approach to social change is shifting. We heard that leaders are: 1) more focused on systems-level change; 2) interested in cultivating connections and collective impact; 3) committed to centering community perspectives; and 4) looking to use data in more meaningful and iterative ways.
This got our wheels turning about the ways in which we support our organizational partners. In response, we took a moment to step back and reflect on our theory of change (a practice we often encourage our partners to engage in!) and thought about how we might expand our services to respond more intentionally to our partners’ goals.
Refreshing Our Theory of Change
A theory of change is a tool to help organizations understand the change they are seeking to achieve in the world. It can be thought of as both a north star, clarifying the long-term impact an organization is seeking to achieve, and a strategic blueprint, outlining the conditions that are needed to bring about that intended impact. For those who aren’t familiar with theory of change work, see an overview linked here.
At ImpactED, our north star is that all mission-driven organizations in the Philadelphia region are advancing equitable outcomes for the individuals and communities they serve. When speaking with our Program Director, Jocelyn Hastings, about the process, she noted that, “I really appreciate how [updating our theory of change] grounds our work in our mission…how are we impacting the community? How are we advancing equitable outcomes for the community? It's helpful to remind ourselves that that is the ultimate impact. That's the guiding light, which I think is inspiring.”
We centered our values throughout this process by empathizing with our partners to better understand their needs and goals, collaborating both internally and externally to incorporate diverse perspectives, and continuously iterating on and improving our approaches using the valuable insights we received from our stakeholders. Our Executive Director, Claire Roberston-Kraft, shared that
“this process was really instrumental in helping us reflect on what had changed in the external environment and how this had influenced the needs and goals of the organizations we work with.”
Ultimately, our theory of change refresh process led to changes in what we do, how we do it, and who we serve.
What We Do: Expanding Beyond Evaluation
We heard from our partners that our work is about much more than evaluation - ultimately, it’s about learning. When ImpactED was founded, our original focus was to provide high-quality evaluation support. At the time, we were responding to the challenge of mission-driven organizations rarely having access to meaningful and actionable data to expand their impact. While evaluation is critical for understanding the impact of your work, over the years, we’ve recognized that becoming a learning organization also requires an intentional focus on both strategy and leadership. Our updated theory of change reflects the importance of all three components of a learning organization:
- Strategy - Our strategy services help organizations get to the heart of why they exist, who they serve, and how they work to create social change. This clear vision and strategy helps our partners better understand how their work responds to community needs and goals and how they can communicate externally with funders about their impact.
- Evaluation - Our unique approach to evaluation focuses not only on data collection and analysis but also on developing a plan for using data to inform learning and action. Focusing on evaluation and learning helps our partners assess and strengthen their impact in the communities they serve.
- Leadership - Our leadership services equip leaders at all levels with the skills and mindsets they need to build inclusive cultures and networks. Inclusive leadership cultures and networks. Inclusive leadership cultures support our partners’ commitment to learning and help them maximize the potential of their teams and organizations.
Senior Director Joe Moorman spoke more in depth about the value of this expanded focus. “In thinking of a more holistic approach - it’s not just about building evaluation capacity… we find ourselves designing programs, designing experiences and projects that are weaving in elements of strategy, evaluation, and leadership because we see the value and importance of all three. It’s those three components together that help to build learning organizations and that sets up organizations in the best way possible to be able to advance their outcomes in their communities.” When put into action, these components create the conditions necessary for organizational growth and impact. This mapped right back onto our north star – and validated that we should make this change.
How We Do Our Work: Offering more flexibility in the the types of support we provide
We heard from our partners that they are looking for varied types of support. Some are interested in a shorter term engagement (e.g., looking for support to revamp a survey) while others are looking for more in-depth support (e.g., a multi-year investment in building out a strategy and plan to evaluate impact). Our revised services, organized under two types of support, are more customized to meet individuals and organizations where they are. See examples of our services on our featured projects page.
- Capacity-Building Support - For organizational leaders looking to build their skills or the skills of their staff:
- Workshop Series: Topic-specific workshops for individuals or groups interested in learning more about a particular strategy, evaluation, or leadership topic or series of topics
- Cohort-Based Programs: Opportunities for individuals or groups interested in a deeper exploration of strategy, evaluation, or leadership topics
- Communities of Practice: Forums for leaders focused on strategic topics or a set of shared experiences and challenges
- Consulting Support - For organizations looking for direct technical assistance from our team:
- Short-Term Engagements: Support on a time-limited project over several months
- Complex Engagements: Hands-on assistance or support over multiple months or years
- Meeting or Retreat Facilitation: Support with board retreats or planning sessions
Revitalizing what we do and how we do our work internally as a team will help us better meet organizations where they are at the current moment. By reevaluating the type of support we provide, we pushed ourselves to walk the walk that we often ask organizations to tread. Senior Evaluation Consultant Nora Pillard Reynolds summarized this well: “The idea of decentering evaluation to be more like one piece of the puzzle…Being able to kind of grow with organizations where they are in that point in time is one of our strengths.”
Who We Serve: Focus in Philly
As we continue to evolve, we decided to double down on our commitment to supporting mission-driven organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region. While we have done work in other cities, we’re more committed now than ever before to shifting the narrative about what’s possible in Philly. We believe that when a critical mass of organizations across our city are operating as learning organizations, they will accelerate the pace of change and create a future where all of Philadelphia’s residents have access to the opportunities they need to thrive. As our Evaluation Director, Lexie Walsh, shared: “Updating our types of support was a kind of recalibration to say that we have a really intentional focus on local organizations that are particularly mission-driven. And that we are interested in building networks and communities of practice in support of these kinds of mission-driven goals.”
Our growth journey at ImpactED continues to be one of reflection and adaptation, always fueled by insights from our valued partners. Our refreshed suite of services is a testament to our commitment
to our organizational value of continuous improvement and our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of our community. By aligning our support with the aspirations of those we serve, whether through capacity-building workshops or hands-on consulting engagements, we continue to not only facilitate organizational growth but foster lasting social impact.
We want to hear from you! What is your organization’s north star? Is your organization thinking about updating your theory of change? Where could you or your organization use more support? Email us at impact-ed@sas.upenn.edu or tag us on social media (@ImpactEDphl) to share your thoughts.
