How Will You Make Change Happen? A Theory of Change Masterclass

Change is a fact of life.  Throughout our personal and entrepreneurial lives we will encounter changes whether that is moving from one school to another, moving house, starting a business or social enterprise.  Change, whether compulsory, enforced or voluntary, helps us learn, adapt and grow and while we don’t normally measure it or plan for change in our personal lives, in business, especially a business with purpose, it is essential that we know what changes we want to make, how our business will help others or the environment and most importantly, how will we measure that change.

 “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Henry Ford

Our July masterclass, delivered as part of the Building Business Horizons programme concentrated on what a social enterprise needs to do and measure to help demonstrate to themselves but also to wider stakeholders and beneficiaries, that they have made a difference and have had a positive impact on their target audience.

A tool that helps in devising and recording this is the Theory of Change, a document often required for applications to funders or supporters and stakeholders, which helps define the wider positive goal that the social entrepreneur is looking to achieve and how they are going to get there.  It helps identify the different activities, outcomes, impact and methods of recording and measuring the impact in a simple table or diagram.

Yet underpinning all of these different elements are the assumptions that need to be made, assessed, tested and potentially amended during the set up and delivery of the social business.  Assumptions such as do people want to be helped, are they willing to change or will resources in the form of funding or time be available to help deliver activities?

“Do you know where you’re going to?” Diana Ross

If you are asking yourself how do I know that I can make a difference and measure it in your own social enterprise or business for purpose, get in touch and we can help you through your own Theory of Change.

If you are also looking at taking this one stage further and identifying how to measure your social impact, join us for a free social impact masterclass over free breakfast pastries and refreshments on Wednesday 11 September from 9am-11am.  Further details and how to book are here https://startupcroydon.co.uk/social-enterprise-masterclass-social-impact-11-september-2019-9-11am/