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Creating a Local Theory of Change

Workshop Facilitation Guide

Implementing the ROMA Cycle in the “Next Generation” Performance Management Framework

Created through the Partnership’s Organizational Standards Center of Excellence and

funded by the Office of Community Services

ROMA NEXT GENERATION TRAINING SERIES

Barbara Mooney, Director, ANCRT

Myka Piatt, Board Member, ANCRT Jarle Crocker, Director T/TA, NCAP

Courtney Kohler, Senior Associate T/TA, NCAP

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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

ROMA Next Generation Training Series ................................................................................................ 3

Learning Objectives for the Series ................................................................................................................ 3

Creating a Local Theory of Change Module Description .............................................................................. 4

Module Learning Objectives.......................................................................................................................... 4

Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Module Outline ............................................................................................................................................. 6

Slides and Notes to the Facilitator ................................................................................................................ 7

This training material was created in collaboration with the Association for Nationally Certif ied ROMA Trainers (ANCRT)

and the Community Action Partnership (Partnership). A key contributing piece to this module is the Guide to Creating a

Local Theory of Change by NASCSP.

This publication was created by National Association of Community Action Agencies - Community Action Partnership in the

performance of the U.S. Department of Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of C ommunity

Services Grant Number 90ET0465.

Any opinion, f indings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not

necessarily ref lect the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Ch ildren and

Families.

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Introduction Creating a Local Theory of Change is one training within a series based on material produced by the

Community Action Partnership, ANCRT, and NASCSP. The series is comprised of a variety of introductory

video modules, workshop PowerPoints, and facilitator guides. The new curriculum pulls in ROMA

principles and practices, exploring the focus areas for ROMA Next Generation and how all the elements

of the Performance Management Framework fit together. Topics within the series are depicted below:

ROMA Next Generation Training Series

Learning Objectives for the Series At the end of this series, participants will be able to define the elements of ROMA and ROMA Next

Generation, and will understand the concepts that will help your agency and the entire CSBG network

increase their performance measurement and management capacity so that the National Goals are

accomplished.

By the end of the series participants are expected to be able to:

- Recall and describe the basic elements of the Results Oriented Management and Accountability

(ROMA) principles and practices

- Explain the new focus on ROMA Next Generation:

- Describe the role of a “Theory of Change” throughout the ROMA Cycle

- Identify key elements of community level work

- Describe the inter-relationships between family, agency and community level changes

- Identify data collection processes and procedures that are needed for data analysis

- Explain the role that data analysis plays in the ROMA Cycle

- Identify key data analysis techniques and how analysis can be used for improvement

- Discuss how all the elements of the Performance Management Framework work together

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Creating a Local Theory of Change Module Description This module is designed to support a local Community Action Agency in the creation of their own Theory

of Change. It is intended to encourage open dialogue among agency stakeholders and critical reflection

on the agency’s assumptions about poverty, their ability to impact change in the local community and

the role of community action.

The facilitation of this module may take more than one session and is adaptable to the needs of the

agency – as there are many places within this module where the local agency may want to move to

other modules in this series or another related topic.

For example, they may come to the review of their Community Needs Assessment (CNA) and that might

be an opportunity to look at other training material to help them evaluate the quality and completeness

of their CNA. In the creation of the Local TOC they will not be looking at the CNA critically – they are

relying on the identification of needs from that document to base their understanding of their

community. However, if they do not have confidence in the identified needs, they may need to pause in

this module and come back to it at a later meeting.

The Theory of Change Module consists of the “Creating a Local Theory of Change” video and an in-

person four to six hour workshop session. The video can be accessed HERE and should be shared with all

workshop invitees at least two weeks before the in-person session.

This guide and the accompanying PowerPoint will support facilitation of the workshop.

Module Learning Objectives Participants will

- Define Theory of Change

- Compare the National Theory of Change to one’s own agency

- Analyze the agency’s organizational culture and how it impacts the Theory of Change

- Identify assumptions about causes and conditions of poverty which are communicated in the

agency’s mission statement

- Identify assumptions about how to address poverty that are communicated in the agency’s

selected services and strategies

- Create a draft (or begin to create a draft) Theory of Change

Overview

Intended Audience:

Community Action Agency directors, managers, staff, board members, customers, and volunteers. May

include partners or others from the community.

Workshop Prerequisites:

All participants should have already watched the “Creating a Local Theory of Change” Video

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Workshop Goal:

Participants will create a draft theory of change document for a local Community Action Agency.

Workshop Length:

4 to 6 hours – note it can be done in short sessions, perhaps as the agency is working on its strategic

plan.

Trainer Requirements: Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer (NCRT), Nationally Certified ROMA

Implementer (NCRI), or other experienced facilitator with understanding of ROMA.

Materials Needed:

Creating a Local Theory of Change PowerPoint, Computer, projector, screen, flip chart, markers, tape,

scrap paper, nametags and/or table tents, index cards (white, blue, pink – five of each for each

attendee), sign-in sheet, agency’s Community Needs Assessment and Mission Statement.

Handouts Needed:

National Theory of Change handout, Guide to Creating a Local Theory of Change (worksheets as noted in

facilitator notes), Organizational Culture Assessment, Evaluation

Note: It may be useful to have copies of the Local Theory of Change template so they can begin entering

some of their ideas in the different areas throughout the day. (Appendix D of Guide to Creating a Local

Theory of Change above)

Number of Participants Recommended: minimum of 12

Room Set-Up: u-shaped or half-rounds

Evaluation: Completed draft Theory of Change, Learner Centered Feedback end of session evaluation

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Module Outline

SECTION CONTENT DELIVERY METHOD TIME SLIDE # MATERIALS NEEDED

Arrival- Sign in and complete cards on Slide 2

30 min 2 Colored Index cards, sign in sheet, name tags or table tents

A Welcome and Introductions

Facilitator led, participants respond

15 min 1 – 4

B Review from Videos Pair up 15 min 5

C National Theory of Change

Small Group 25 min 6-8 National TOC handout; Three flip charts labeled Agreements, Differences & Questions

D Mission Statement Discussion 20 min 9-11 Agency’s mission statement

E Organizational Culture

Lecture/discussion 20 min 12-19 Organizational Culture Assessment

F Causes and Conditions

Large Group Activity 30 min 20 Index cards

G Identifying Needs Small Group Activity 40 min 21-22

H Community Needs Assessment

Discussion/individual activity

30 min 23 - 26 Toolkit Worksheets

I Outcomes Discussion/small group

30 min 27 – 32 Toolkit worksheets

J Services & Strategies Lecture/discussion/ individual activity

40 min 33-43 Toolkit worksheets

K Community Level Change

Discussion 10 min 44

L Following Progress Discussion 10 min 45-46

M Wrap Up Discussion 15 min 47 Evaluations

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Slides and Notes to the Facilitator Slide 1

Creating aLocal Theory of Change

Workshop

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Slide 2

WHILE WE GET SETTLED

WHITE: What do you believe are the causes of poverty?

BLUE: What do you believe are the impacts of poverty on your community? (in other words, what conditions do you see that you attribute to the state of “poverty” in the community)

PINK: What do you think people need to get out of poverty?

As you are waiting for people to arrive provide these instructions for an activity later in the morning. Pass out several white, blue and pink note cards to each person. Ask that they write causes of poverty on the white cards (one per card), conditions of poverty on the blue card (one per card), and needs on the pink card.

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Slide 3

Welcome & Introductions

• Who’s here?

The facilitator is trying to get a sense of who is in the room – board members, staff (upper management, direct service?), volunteers, community members??? Ask participants to say what you need to know! Name, of course, even if everyone knows everyone else as this announces that they are present and ready to participate. Other information could be their role, what their goal is for the training , or other basic information.

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Slide 4

Overview for Today

• Participants have already had an introduction to Theory of Change development in the video presentation.

• Today we will be digging deeper into important matters that will help develop a draft of a local Theory of Change for your agency.

• The draft TOC will be used throughout the ROMA Cycle as the agency • Conducts Community Needs Assessment, • Engages in Strategic Planning• Implements services and strategies• Reports• Analyzes what happened! • And moves back to reassessment

Explain that today will be mostly activities and discussions to assist them in drafting a local Theory of Change. Consider drafting group ground rules (respect, confidentiality, share, listen, etc).

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Slide 5

Learning Objectives for this Workshop

Participants will:

- Define “Theory of Change”

- Identify key elements of the National Community Action Theory of Change

- Recognize the assumptions about causes and conditions of poverty which are communicated in agency mission statements

- Recognize the assumptions about how to address poverty which are communicated in the strategies and services an agency chooses

- Describe the benefits of creating a local Theory of Change

- Identify steps to creating a local Theory of Change

Some of these objectives may have been met in the video overview, but we will review them

At the end of this video and the accompanying in-person session participants will be able to define the

term Theory of Change and identify the key elements of the National Community Action Theory of

Change. By considering the concept of assumptions you will be able to identify underlying messages

about poverty in agency’s mission statements, services and strategies. You will be able to describe the

benefits of creating a local Theory of Change and identify the steps to do so.

These principles will allow you to create at least a first draft of your local agency Theory of Change.

We will start by reviewing key messages from the video overview.

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Slide 6

Review from Videos

• What is a Theory of Change?

• What is a benefit of creating a local Theory of Change?

-Explain we will start with a review of the key points from the video series -Ask each person to think of their responses to these two questions and jot down some ideas. -Assign each person a partner next to them and ask them to share their responses -Ask for a few volunteers to share what they discussed Ensure the following key points were covered: What is a Theory of Change? -graphic representation of your ideas about the change that you are working towards, the conditions you are working in, and how you will accomplish the change What is a benefit of creating a local Theory of Change? -stimulates important conversations about agency’s assumptions and roles -communicates clearly what you are working towards -defines population -connects strategies and services to long term outcomes -allows for hypothesis to be tested Explain that you will reflecting on your own agency by considering the National Theory of Change and how it reflects, or does not reflect your agency.

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Slide 7

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Slide 8

National Theory of Change

•What do you see that reflects your local CAA?

•What do you see that does not reflect your local CAA?

•What is missing from this CAA that is an important part of your agency?

Pass out copies of the National Community Action Theory of Change and put participants into small groups of 4-5. Ask them to consider, in their groups, how the National TOC reflects their agency and then to consider what is in the TOC that does not reflect their agency or what is missing from the National TOC that is important to share about their agency Close by making the point that while the National TOC represents the CAA network it cannot represent all of the 1000 local agencies as they are serving different communities, have different underlying philosophies, different leadership, etc. Explain that before we start looking at the toolkit and considering the steps in creating a local TOC we want to reflect a bit on the organizational culture of this CAA. ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LANGUAGE IN THE NATIONAL GOALS IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE HAVE KNOWN IN THE SIX NATIONAL GOALS (which have been our guiding framework since 1998) Focus one part of the discussion on the difference between “self sufficiency” which is the old language and “economic security” which is the new language. Indicate that agencies can use the self sufficiency term in creating their local TOC if they prefer it. Make note of the leaning of the group about these terms at this time, but tell them they can change their language later.

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Slide 9

Considerations for building TOC

• Agreements

• Differences/Unresolved Issues

• Questions we need answered

Announce that as we go through the activities we will be collecting observations from the various activities/discussions which might be helpful/important to consider as we build a local TOC Post three flip chart pages around the room and explain that we can add items to them throughout the day as issues are revealed. The three lists are: -Agreements: these are ideas/ issues/descriptions that we have agreement on which might impact our TOC (common assumptions, agreed upon outcomes, strategies, needs) -Differences/Unresolved issues: these are issues that we do not have agreement on. There is more than one view of the situation. (some say our agency is problem focused, some say it is not, for example) -Questions we need answered: perhaps in order to resolve differences we need more information. This is a place for tracking the questions that are raised throughout the day that would help to inform an accurate TOC Let’s start our work thinking about who we are – as identified by our mission and our agency’s culture.

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Slide 10

Who are you?

Can you find out by reading your Mission Statement?

Alice does not like the Caterpillar when they first meet, because he does not immediately talk to her and when he does, it is in short, rather rude sentences, or by asking difficult questions. She really can’t get a clear answer from him – and he is frustrated too because he doesn’t think he can get a clear answer from her! Is this the reaction you get when you try to talk about your agency? -Do people who are not in the “community action family” have a hard time understanding who you are and what you do? -Does the agency get pigeonholed into one of your programs? “oh that is the agency that provides weatherization” This doesn’t really indicate ALL the work you do as the designated anti-poverty agent in the community (in the CSBG act, each local CAA is so designated) Discuss how the agency’s mission statement is supposed to clearly represent the purpose and goals of the agency. Refer back to the discussion in the video of mission statements.

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Slide 11

To improve the quality of life for people in need by empowering them to become more self-sufficient and by providing essential services in collaboration and cooperation with partners.

- People in need must be empowered to become more self-sufficient

- We can empower them

- Becoming empowered to be more self-sufficient will improve their quality of life

- People who are not already self sufficient are in need of essential services

- We can’t provide these services alone

- We have partner who will collaborate with us to provide these services

Assumptions behind Mission statements

Remind participants of the Assumptions discussion in the video. Let’s consider one more example mission statement: To improve the quality of life for people in need by empowering them to become more self-sufficient and by providing essential services in collaboration and cooperation with partners.

What can we infer about this agency’s assumptions about poverty and its role in addressing it? Get ideas from the participants, and then show the ideas on the slide.

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Slide 12

Our Agency’s Mission

Mission Statement

Using the agency’s own mission statement, facilitate a discussion about what assumptions are communicated within it. Consider: The agency’s mission statement may or may not clearly articulate the purpose of the agency. End by asking if there are items to be added to the agreement/differences/questions charts. CAUTION: YOU ARE NOT RE-WRITING THE AGENCY’S MISSION STATEMENT. DO NOT ALLOW THE PARTICIPANTS TO GET OFF ON THAT TANGENT. YOU ARE JUST GETTING THEM TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY MAY DO LATER – ONCE THEY HAVE A DRAFT TOC. One of the things they could do is have a mission statement review…but that is not for today.

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Slide 13

What do we mean by “Culture”?

What do you know about your agency’s culture?

Culture is a complex system of behavior, values, beliefs, traditions and artifacts, which is often transmitted in subtle and indirect ways. The term is often used to explain the differences between groups of people. It can also apply to the specific group of people that are the employees of an agency. In addition to belonging to the culture of your family, your neighborhood, your country (or other groups) you also belong to the culture of Community Action and to your local agency. As we saw in the differences that local agencies have in responding to community needs like emergency situations, we will see that those responses are embedded in different agency cultures.

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Slide 14

Culture is….

• Learned from the people around us

• Shared- it does not belong to an individual, but to a group

• Cumulative and dynamic

• Activities and the symbols that give significance to these activities • Graphics• Literature• Dress• Customs• Language• Rituals

Review the following points: -Culture is learned from the people around us. -Culture is shared (it does not belong to an individual but rather to a group). -Culture is cumulative and dynamic, constantly evolving and undergoing slow changes. -Culture refers to the activities and the symbols that give significance to these activities (graphics, literature, dress, customs, language, rituals).

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Slide 15

Organizational Culture: Foundation of Success

•Research shows that organizations are pushed forward or held back by management and employees

•Actions are determined largely by organizational culture

•Organizational culture is hidden, but can be analyzed

•Once determined, organizational culture can be changed

Research shows us that in every workplace, the organization is either pushed forward or held back by its management and employees. And… the actions of employees and managers are largely determined by the “organizational culture” – which is often subtly and almost invisibly enforced. However, the deep beliefs held throughout the organization need not be a mystery. They can be determined, analyzed, targeted for action, and used to benefit the entire organization.

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Slide 16

Analysis of your organizational culture will allow you to: • Connect beliefs and priorities to work behavior and effectiveness

• Identify what you expect to accomplish

• Eliminate barriers that prevent you from changing

• Tap into the unused potential of the people of the organization; impact employee morale, commitment, productivity, physical health and emotional well-being

• Enable strategic plans to succeed at all levels

Acknowledge that there may be different personal beliefs among the agency’s board, staff, volunteers and customers. However, the agency itself has an overarching belief system that is seen manifest in what the agency does and what it accomplishes. Taking the time to analyze your agency culture will allow you to: -Connect beliefs and priorities to work behavior and effectiveness. -Identify what you expect to accomplish -Eliminate barriers that prevent you from changing to meet new circumstances. -Tap into the unused potential of the people of the organization; impact employee morale, commitment, productivity, physical health and emotional well-being. -Enable strategic plans to succeed at all levels.

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Slide 17

The good news/bad news

Culture is what makes your organization unique

Culture is what may keep you stuck in the past

Point out that while your organization’s culture is what makes you unique it also may be what is keeping you in the past. It’s essential that you understand the things about your organizational culture that are preventing you from being more successful. Just because something worked in the past does not mean that it works today.

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Slide 18

Change or get left behind

• Technological and social changes are coming fast

•Culture vs Change? Culture usually wins

•Culture drives effectiveness and outcomes

Today's world is complex, interconnected, driven by fast technological and social change. Many things in the world are changing and not all organizations are ready to review their beliefs and consider new ways of addressing both old and new problems. The organization’s culture is often so strong and so powerful that when there is a discrepancy or inconsistency between the current culture and the objectives of change, the culture will win. Remember that an organization's culture is directly related to its effectiveness and has everything to do with the results that they can achieve. While we know that we need to update our mindset and behaviors to survive, this can be difficult Let’s look at an activity that will help you to reflect on your agency culture

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Slide 19

Reflection on Your Organizational Culture

• Activity

Pass out the organizational culture assessment and discuss a few of the points. This is an activity that will have to be done after this session and the results will have to be part of a later discussion. Remind participants that we are attempting to develop a draft local TOC today, but they will have lots of things that they need to explore and consider before adopting a final version. Looking closely at their mission statement is one thing, and exploring their organizational culture is another. There will be a separate workshop that will help them understand their organizational culture and consider what they may want to do differently. For today you can get a few ideas out on the table for consideration: One idea is getting the group to think about what people think when they first approach the agency: How welcoming is the entry to the agency? Physically, is it well lit, clean, etc. Are posters and signs in the languages that reflect the customers (participants) and the community? Who is the first person the new customer meets? What is that interaction like? What does all this say about the organization? Obviously, while the organizational culture can be a big influence on the success of our agency, there are many other components as well. Let’s take a look.

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Slide 20

In ROMA we assert that we have a “results orientation” -- that we are concerned about the changes that happen that indicate movement. Consider all the things that can go into “success” – we expect that there is a lot of movement forward, but also understand that there can also be losses. What we learn from “failures” can be very helpful in achieving ultimate success. So let’s talk about both the things that are barriers and those that are supports.

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Slide 21

Causes and Conditions of Poverty

WHITE: What do you believe are the causes of poverty?

BLUE: What do you believe are the impacts of poverty on your community? (in other words, what conditions do you see that you attribute to the state of “poverty” in the community)

Ideally this step was done as people arrived: Pass out several white, pink and blue notecards to each person. Ask that they write causes of poverty on the white cards (one per card) and conditions of poverty on the blue card (one per card) and what people need to get out of poverty on the pink card. For now we are only looking at the white and blue cards. Collect the cards and group like responses together. Display the responses and read/review them with the group. Discuss: What are key themes that have emerged when we consider causes of poverty? What are key themes that emerged when we considered conditions of poverty? What differences do we see in our responses? If we surveyed our clients how would their responses be similar or different? What does this start to tell us about our agency’s assumptions about poverty? Ask for agreement on items to be listed on the three flip charts (agreements/differences/questions)

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Slide 22

You have thought about the causes and conditions of poverty -- both in the abstract and how they actually impact on the people in your own community. Now switch gears and think about the resources and conditions that must exist in order for families to move to self-sufficiency. Our agency wants to help overcome the causes and conditions of poverty (because of our designated mission in the CSBG act), but how can we say what we must do to support families move out of poverty in our community if we haven’t identified what must exist (in the most general terms) to support them first? Explain that as we are discussing our community it is important for us to define what is needed for success (for “results”). Divide the participant into six groups and give each group a flip chart page and markers. Assign each group a particular domain from the CSBG Annual Report: Income, Infrastructure & Asset Building; Housing, Health/Social Behavioral Development;, Education & Cognitive Development; Employment; Civic Engagement & Community Involvement. Ask them to consider. What is needed to supporting economic stability related to each of these domains?

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Encourage them to consider all kinds of resources -- systems and infrastructure, networks, and other conditions/opportunities that must be present in the community, as well as individual/family characteristics and assets. Begin by reviewing needs on the pink cards and determining which domain each relates to. Next allow time for the group to identify more. After giving time to complete their lists ask each group to share. As they are sharing compile a list on a flip chart of the conditions and resources identified or post each sheet in the front of the room. After each group has shared ask them to look at the list you have compiled. Ask for agreement on what on the list exist already. Circle these in green. Ask for agreement on which are clearly lacking in the community right now. Circle these in Red If there are causes or resources that create disagreement or need further research circle these in orange. Post this list near the Agreements/differences/questions charts and add any questions that emerged to that list. Explain we now want to compare this list with the needs assessment.

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Slide 23

Community Needs Assessment

• My community needs the following opportunities (resources?) to help families reach economic security ……….

• Families in my community need the following support if they are to reach economic security…….

Encourage participants to think about the causes and conditions of poverty as they consider what people may need to move out of poverty. Introduce these questions on the slide but don’t discuss yet.

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Slide 24

Ask participants to look at their agency’s most recent Community Needs Assessment and discuss how it compares to what we have been discussing about the Causes and Conditions of poverty and the dream list of what is needed to support movement out of poverty. Stress that this is a quick exercise, not a full community needs assessment analysis or planning session. There are other sessions to help you design your Community Needs Assessment.

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Slide 25

Identified Needs

Find the top three to five needs identified in your agency’s community assessment:

• Of the needs above, which are integral to your agency mission?

• Are you already addressing these? (In the column to the right, indicate yes or no)

• Identify if these are family, agency or community level needs. • Enter “f,” “a,” or “c” in the column to the right.

Use the worksheet on page 8 of the Toolkit and follow the instructions. Also discuss if the needs identified in the previous group activity reflect these needs in the document.

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Slide 26

Use what you learned about your organizational culture to apply to the local TOC

• Think about how “we have always done” the work of the agency• What is real, what is true, what is good, what is done?

• Think about the outcomes (changes) that you have achieved in the past.

• Think about WHAT ELSE your agency could achieve if you were not “problem” focused

The ideas that are generated by this kind of thinking will influence your creation of your local Theory of Change

Remind the participants about the circles of culture and how beliefs, values and behaviors are intertwined. Have them look at the items they have identified as causes and conditions of poverty, and at what is needed to help people move out of poverty. Then compare that with the way we have always done our work. The problem with problem solving: If you have identified a problem that the agency needs to solve, you have most likely already determined (sometime in the past) what you were going to do. Often we see that the problem is so big that it seems overwhelming, and so the agency considers what small part of the problem they can solve. The problem with this approach is that if you were not looking for the smallest part of the problem that you can solve, you may have other ideas that could make bigger impact. If you solve the tiny problem, does it have any impact on the big problem? Feed the family today, but they are still living in poverty. Is there something else that could be done? There are a lot of things that go into “success” – in our case, success is moving people toward stability and then to economic security.

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Slide 27

Big Thinking

Which needs require community level strategies and/or partnerships?

What can you do to contribute to impacting those needs that are not the immediate mission of your agency?

Use the worksheet on page 9 of the Toolkit. Of those needs that you identified as being integral to the agency mission, identify those that require community level strategies and/or partnerships to get at the “causes.” Of those that are outside the immediate focus of your agency mission, are there things you can do to contribute to community wide or other effort to address them?

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Slide 28

Rest of quote: Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere. The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.” Where do you want to go?

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Slide 29

Identifying outcomes:

• Identify your agency Overall Outcomes

• These are the outcomes that are based on the community needs and resources, the agency’s priorities and the agency planning process.

THIS IS A QUICK ACTIVITY where the facilitator is writing on a flip chart ideas that come from participants. Guide the responses from participants by saying: The overall agency outcomes may be achieved by multiple agency strategies, which you will be asked to identify later. But for this first step, the participants are to think about what they want the combined efforts of the agency to change. What will happen for individuals and families that are served directly by the agency? That are referred to agency partners? (The facilitator must be ready for most responses to be program level changes – they will have food, they will get a high school diploma, they will be ready for school. If this happens, you may want to move to the next slide and then come back to say But what are the overall outcomes? If someone gets a high school diploma do they come back for additional services? It may be that the agency does not have at this time any overall outcomes. That is ok as it will be part of what they need to do to finalize their local TOC – but you want to be sure they know they are fragmenting their effectiveness by not having agency level thinking about outcomes). Will anything change in the community? (be ready for this answer to be “nothing”). What will change for the agency? (New programs? Staff development? New systems?)

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Slide 30

Identifying outcomes:

• Next identify the Program Outcomes

• These may be identified by program funding source or by the specific focus of the individual program.

• How do these Program Outcomes contribute to the Overall Outcomes of the agency.

Next facilitate a quick activity to identify program outcomes. Note: the agency may have “divisions” or “departments” or other ways that organize the programs – if so you may see outcomes associated with a set of programs that are also grouped in this way.

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Slide 31

Do you see these outcomes identified in the

• Agency Wide Strategic Plan?

• Community Action Plan? (CSBG funding request)

• Other proposals for funding for specific programs

• Agency Annual Report

• Other agency outreach brochures

• Anywhere ???

Lead a discussion about where you see these outcomes promoted. How does the community know what your agency expects to achieve? Where are the outcomes written?

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Slide 32

What kind of outcome?

Are the changes that the agency wants to achieve for individuals? Families? The conditions in the community? The agency’s own capacity or resources?

Look back at the needs identified in the last worksheet. See the determination of the levels of need. Do the agency and program outcomes on the flip charts match the needs? Work in small groups to use page 10-12 of the Toolkit to identify agency and program outcomes you want to include in your TOC: List the key outcomes you want to be known for. Connect the outcome to one or more of the needs you identified. Once participants have identified outcomes, click on the gears. This shows that outcomes at family, agency and community levels all must work together. They cannot exist independently and still be successful. If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime, assuming that he has a place to fish. The pond is not toxic. The pond is not restricted so he cannot fish there. Sometimes teaching the man to fish gives him a skill he cannot use. In identifying your outcomes at these levels you will be challenged to also consider how they connect to the long term National Goals. How will your local outcomes produce: individual and family stability and economic security? A thriving community? A community where individuals with low income have a role to play in producing opportunities for all?

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Slide 33

Identify the Connections

•Identify how family level outcomes will improve the community conditions•Identify how community outcomes will support family outcomes•Identify how agency involvement in community planning and community projects is "value added"

As you develop the theory of change you will be tasked with considering how the levels relate. Such as how family level outcomes improve community conditions, how community outcomes support family outcomes, and how agency involvement in community level work is “value added” – it improves both families and communities.

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Slide 34

Are the services connected to the outcomes?

It is important to think about how what the agency does impacts on what happens.

Next we will look at some examples of how services can connect to outcomes.

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Slide 35

Service

Outcome

One Service -> One Outcome

.

You may find out that a single service is all that is needed to help an individual or family achieve the outcome they seek. Ask for an example and be prepared with some of your own: I need transportation to medical appointments and I receive a bus pass from the agency that will allow me to make my appointments for the next 6 months. I need help filing out my tax return and with the agency’s assistance I secure an EITC refund.

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Slide 36

Service

Service

Service

Service

Outcome

Multiple Services -> One Outcome

.

More often we find that the individual or family needs more than one service to assure the outcome is achieved. Ask for an example. If needed, share: For instance if the outcome is “families have secure housing” – one service may be a voucher for funds to pay one month’s rent. That probably isn’t going to achieve real security because the family was in an eviction status in order to qualify for this assistance. Do they need help getting a new place to live that is more affordable? Will they need help moving? Will they need additional furniture or appliances? Or do they need budgeting counseling to help them figure out how to meet all the demands on their income so they can stay where they are?

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Slide 37

Service

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

One Service -> Multiple Outcomes

Sometimes one service really has a lot of outcomes associated with it. For instance an adult education class may produce one outcome of improved self esteem and another outcome of increased academic and problem solving skills, and still another outcome could be the achievement of a high school equivalency diploma.

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Slide 38

Service

Service

Service

Service

Service

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Multiple Services -> Multiple Outcomes

.

Often what we find in an agency with multiple programs or with multiple partners who help to provided needed services is that it takes a complex response to help families meet several immediate needs with different outcomes. Services like weatherization, housing assistance, counseling and health care may be combined to produce improved housing, improved health, improved ability to pay bills and decreased utility and medical expenses.

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Slide 39

Service

Service

Service

Service

Service

Single Service

.

Of course agencies also provide services that are not intended to produce a change but rather meet an immediate need, such as information/referral, food pantries, clothing distributions, and other single services.

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Slide 40

Consider the individuals and families

• Are they coming to the agency because of an emergency? Because they are facing a crisis of some kind?

• Do you provide immediate tangible assistance?

• What kind of “result” do you see?– Does the assistance help the family move out of the

crisis state?

– Is there a change in status?

– Is the situation temporarily addressed, but the crisis persists?

This discussion is at the heart of one of the important considerations that agencies make when they decide what their response will be to individuals and families who are in a crisis. They may have an eviction notice or utility shut off notice. They may be without food or clothing or medicine or other basic need. The reasons for these situations are varied. Ask participants to generate a list of reasons why an individual or family may be facing such a crisis. The list can include

•Wage earner lost job •Wage earner was sick and missed work, resulting in a small pay check •Family member was sick, wage earner missed work, small pay check •Resources were stolen (money, food stamps, etc.) •Fire or other disaster

Of course another reason is that the money just ran out! The family doesn’t have enough money to pay all the bills and get all the basic needs covered. It could be that the family finds itself in this kind of crisis every month. Providing direct tangible assistance (or linking the individual/family with another agency that can provide the assistance) is sometimes considered “prevention” services, or “stabilization” services or “gateway” services. The language that is used by agencies to describe these services is a clue about their assumptions about the services they provide.

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Slide 41

Before you decide about the service

•Know exactly what the customer needs, and understand what result the service will produce. •Do these match?

•Know how the individual and family needs relate to the community opportunities and challenges •These two levels are inter-related

Make the point that the C N A gives some information, and the agency reports gives some information,

but the agency really has to draw on the experience of its staff, board and volunteers to help them

understand the context in which they are delivering services.

Again show the inter relationship between individual and family services and community strategies.

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Slide 42

Assumptions behind services

• Prevention services – we believe that the tangible assistance given to the customer will prevent a crisis. – Rent payment will avoid an eviction and keep families in their home.

• Stabilization services – we believe that the tangible assistance will enable the family to maintain all their basic needs– Monthly food distribution allows the family to stretch other resources

to enable all basic needs to be met

• Gateway services – we believe that the tangible assistance will enable us to establish a relationship with the family, and they will return to the agency for other services. – Food pantry recipient will ask about training opportunities or other

tangible assistance needed.

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Slide 43

Other “one time” services

•

Get the participants to generate a list of services that a family may receive – and then not return to the agency for any additional services. Talk about each one and see if there is an expectation that the family will have a change in status. Some ideas: -Income Tax preparation – some families receive a considerable EITC refund which can signal a change in status -Job fair – if attendance leads to employment opportunities this can signal a change in status -Information and referral hot line – access to a needed service may lead to a change in status. -Holiday food basket – meets an immediate need but no change in status -Others… To know if any of the status changes happen, there must be follow up – customers must be asked about the impact of the service. Use the worksheet of the Guide to Creating a Local Theory of Change, page 13, to identify the customers served by your agency. Do they receive a service, or are they expected to achieve a change in status?

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Slide 44

Identifying what the agency will do

• What we’ve always done

• What we have funding to do

• What is most important to our board

• What is most important to our Executive Director

Ask- how did your agency determine the services it provides? Next we’ll look at a couple examples of services and see if we can figure out what the agency’s assumptions are. -What they believe about the work they do -What their organizational culture promotes

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Slide 45

Assumptions Behind Strategies

Can you identify what is behind these strategies?

1. Our agency will provide credit counseling to low income people who are deeply in debt.

2. We provide an emergency food distribution each month.

3. We are a part of a community coalition that works with existing and potential employers who are not giving jobs to local residents

Let’s look at some agency strategies and consider what they tell us about what the agency believes about impacting poverty. Review each of the strategies and discuss the assumptions behind each. Some ideas: -Low income people need credit counseling; people are in debt because they can’t manage their money, low income people will participate in credit counseling from your agency; if low income people managed their money better they would be more economically stable -People need food, we can meet an immediate need, this will create stability for the family, we can engage families in other services -We need partnerships to make a change; there are job opportunities; our residents are qualified for the jobs; local employers are open to meeting with us and our partners; we can get the employers to hire locals; hiring local will improve their economic security How do you know this strategy works? How do you know if your assumption holds true?

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Slide 46

What would you do?

Your agency has just received a modest sum of money to address problems relating to food insecurity.

Which of the following approaches do you believe your agency would adopt?

1. Conduct a food donation drive and distribute the food to low-income people

2. Buy a new truck for the agency’s food bank to increase ability to gather food.

3. Establish a skills development program so individuals with low income can learn how to purchase economical food and use them to produce nutritious meals for the family

4. Help community residents organize and operate a farmer's market where low-income people (and others) can buy and sell produce

5. Assist a local group in advocating for expansion of federal and state food programs so more families are eligible for this benefit.

Have volunteers read the slide and ask that participants jot down their own answer, without revealing it out loud. Ask for show of hands to determine the most popular choices. Ask: What does the choice of strategy tell you about what you believe will work to address the issue? Consider: How do the different types of strategies differ in terms of: -Amount of time it takes to get the strategy going -Involvement of residents -Cost -Possible payoff or benefits to be achieved -Permanency of “the cure” -Changing people -Changing social or legal institutions Ask, what about the strategies your agency does – what does it tell you about your agency? List agreements/ differences/questions on the charts.

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Slide 47

What do you do to achieve the outcomes?

• Services for individuals and families• Direct services

• Referrals to partners or other agencies

• Strategies for community and agency level work• include other agencies, community members, agency customers, businesses,

faith-based groups, government and policy making bodies

We use the term “services” to mean what the agency actually does for individuals and families. The term “strategies” means what the agency may do alone or with others to move beyond a direct service relationship. It usually includes a comprehensive plan to achieve one or more goals. There are many kinds of strategies that include partnerships and “collective impact” coalitions. Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources (often limited resources) to execute the actions. A strategy describes how the ends (outcomes) will be achieved by the means (resources). It is important to understand that a combination of individual and family services, community strategies, and strategies to support agency capacity are needed to make real changes that impact poverty. These levels of agency action are interconnected.

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Slide 48

When selecting service and strategies we must here again consider how family, agency and community efforts work together. They are not operating in a vacuum. At the agency level the community action agency must conduct strong assessment and planning processes, they must have highly functioning staff and data management processes in order to support the family and community level work being done. At the family level, agencies are providing direct services to individuals such as training, referral, case management support and tangible resources such as funds and supplies. These services and supports are provided in many domains including education, housing, employment, asset building, health and civic engagement. Strong community action agencies realize that direct services to families and individuals alone will not create lasting change in the community. For these services to have an impact, the community must have infrastructure and opportunities to meet the needs of the constituents. Community action agencies intervene through partnerships, advocacy and policy change in order to ensure community capacity in areas such as employment opportunities, health, infrastructure development, civic engagement opportunities, education and housing. Your Community Action Agency must determine the outcomes it should work on at each level in order to impact change. Use page 14-15 of the Toolkit to identify services and strategies: List the services you provide or strategies in which your agency participates. Connect the service to one or more of the outcomes you identified.

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Slide 49

Community LevelChange

It’s not uncommon that a community action agency realizes through this process that their agency focuses primarily on family level strategies but identifies a need for community level change. Ask – why? Community level change can be overwhelming. Where do you start? Who do you partner with? How do you get them to partner? Where does the money come from? How do you know you’re making progress? How long will it take? How do you report it? How do you justify the time and money? Will it even work? These are reasons many agencies shy away. However we saw today that community level change is vital to reaching our outcomes and it is what community action was intended to do. It’s time to start detoxifying that pond! In our Community Level Change module we will discuss considerations for engaging in these community level strategies.

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Slide 50

Following progress

• What indicators will measure progress towards the goals?

• What evidence will identify that the outcomes have occurred?

With the recent changes to the Annual Report it is important to reconsider the NPIs that your agency will report on. Consider, which will you be tracking? Consider: Does this provide any insight into the agency’s culture or assumptions? Ask: why is it important to collect and report on this data? Because it’s a requirement? Is that the only reason? What can you learn from the data?

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Slide 51

Learning from data

Stress that the data can and should be used to get information about which of our strategies work for which subsets of the population, how well we provide services, etc but the value of identifying our theory of change is that once we have defined our assumptions we can also go back and review them in light of the new data. This is called double loop learning and can be difficult. Let’s look at an example. If we assume that if we provide individuals with credit counseling they will improve their financial management and therefore be more economically stable, but we find that the participants in our credit counseling class do not improve their economic stability. We could (single loop learning) revise our curriculum or replace the facilitator, maybe we add in more one on one coaching. We could also (double loop learning) start to question if credit counseling really does lead to better economic stability. Maybe we find out our participants do not make enough money to cover their living expenses. Perhaps the problem is a lack of affordable housing, or living wage jobs. In our data analysis video we will review ideas for using data to improve your program and test your assumptions – which may lead to a revised Theory of Change!

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Slide 52

Do a quick review of the areas we have discussed over the day. Participants should be able to start to

think in terms of the graphic shown here.

Have copies of this and of the graphic without the guiding words, so that they can begin entering some

of their ideas in the different areas.

Depending on time, you could get a few responses from the group about each area.

Remind them that they may have to do more work on the basic information so that they come to

consensus about the agency’s Theory of Change.

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Slide 53

Now that you have a local TOC,

• How will you use it?

Brainstorm some ideas. The list should include:

-Guide agency strategic planning process -Help agency select appropriate services and strategies that meet the identified needs -Help all agency staff understand how their own programs (or work) is connected to overall agency outcomes and the national goals. -Guide analysis of the report data – what may need to be strengthened or abandoned. -Help establish the next year’s community needs assessment process (what data do you need to collect that you didn’t collect before? Do you need more qualitative data? How will you get it?)

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Slide 54

Time to go!

Final thoughts/ next steps/what questions that came up today do we want to focus on? What training topic will be the next one for our group to pursue? Provide contact information and any closing housekeeping.