42 - Program Planning- From Theory of Change to Impact Reporting

Abstract Information: This half-day Professional Development Workshop provides an educational opportunity for attendees to draft components of program planning and explore free tools to develop program planning documents. Program planning is a multi-step, cyclical process designed to measure programming quality. Workshop attendees can apply the information provided during this session to an actual program they are responsible for evaluating to determine impact. Participants are asked to bring a laptop and relevant programming and evaluation materials.

Relevance Statement: Program planning is a multi-step, cyclical process enacted to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a program. The first step in program planning is to develop a Theory of Change (ToC) that "explains how a given intervention, or set of interventions, is expected to lead to specific development change, drawing on a causal analysis based on available evidence" (United Nations Development Group, 2017). The next step is logic model development. Logic models are best developed using backward mapping to ensure the outputs and outcomes align with the evaluation plan. After the logic model, program practitioners can create planning guides and related resources while evaluators generate a data management plan for developed evidence-generation tools. Once the program has commenced, evaluators can assist practitioners with determining feasibility through periodic After Action Reviews (AAR) designed to improve programming processes and execution. At the end of the program planning cycle is impact reporting. Understanding the parts of an impact report, elements of technical writing, and data visualization techniques help evaluators craft professional reports that all stakeholders easily understand.