Creating (or refining) a logic model or theory of change

Logic models. Theories of Change. Conceptual frameworks. Conceptual models. Perhaps you’ve seen these words in grant applications or articles and asked yourself: What’s the difference? Does it matter? Which one should I use?

My take is that these are all more or less the same thing. Generally speaking, theories of change tend to be broader and messier, and logic models more actionable and precise. Conceptual lands somewhere in the middle. At the end of the day, all of these things are tools to map out your idea - to paint a picture of how you create change in the world, and spell out what that change is!

Why do you need one? Logic models or theories of changes are an incredible tool for 1) telling the story of how you create change in the world and 2) getting clarity on what you need to measure when evaluating your success. They are one of the first steps in research studies because you can’t test whether or not (or how) something works if you don’t first clearly describe how it works. For this reason, they are also often required by funders who want to better understand how your idea works and how you plan on measuring your success.

 

Challenges you might face and how I can help:

 

  • Logic models and theories of changes are tools for telling the story of your work. Together we’ll work to drill down and describe your work as clearly and simply as possible.

  • When you miscategorize aspects of your work, the story your telling gets confusing. Together we’ll make sure everything is in the place it needs to be in order to best describe what you are doing and why.

  • Outcomes are WHAT you are creating or generating, measures are how you know these changes are occurring. When you map out measures instead of outcomes, your story becomes crowded and difficult to follow. We’ll focus on WHAT you are doing and creating and separate out the measures for later.

  • A strong, measurable story has pieces that all fit together seamlessly — it doesn’t jump around or skip parts. We’ll make sure you can easily read through the logic model from input to outcomes and tell a clear story of how each activity leads to particular outcomes — short-, medium-, and long-term.

 

Who I’ve worked with on logic models/theories of change:

  • College Beyond

  • ImpactEd @ the University of Pennsylvania

  • Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

  • NewSchools Venture Fund

  • 4.0

  • New York City Coalition for Teacher Preparation

  • And, more!