Methodology for Developing the Theory of Change
The development of this Theory of Change (ToC) will follow a participatory and inclusive process designed to ensure it reflects the perspectives, priorities, and lived experiences of all key stakeholders. The methodology will include:
Stakeholder Engagement and Scoping
We will engage a diverse group of stakeholders including Girls and Young Women (GYW), leaders, volunteers, Member Organisations, staff, senior management team, World Board and Regional Committees. This diversity will ground the ToC in real-world contexts and align it with the priorities and needs of all stakeholders. To balance time and resources, a mix of approaches will be used to engage and consult stakeholders, including:
- Youth survey: Distributed through the newsletter and on social media to gather wide-ranging views on what it means to be a Girl Guide/Girl Scout (GG/GS) and the barriers to achieving a better world where girls can thrive.
- Stakeholder Group: A representative group from across the Movement who will engage in Focus Group Discussions
- Youth in-person consultations: to complement the survey, leaders will be asked to facilitate a short session to gather insight from youth members across the Movement
- Youth Advisory Group (YAG): youth volunteers will be recruited to engage in focus group discussions, including problem tree and objective tree analyses, and analysis of the results from the youth consultations
- Desktop Review: Analysis of existing evidence, past work, and ToC models from other organisations to ensure alignment with best practice.
Process:
I) Problem and Context Analysis
We will conduct a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), including:
- Stakeholder Group FGDs – examining and reflecting on the role of GG/GS, WAGGGS, and the Movement in achieving our vision.
- Youth Advisory Group FGDs – we will work with youth volunteers to conduct problem and objective tree analyses to define root causes, barriers, and enabling factors influencing the Compass vision of “a better world where all girls can thrive.”
II) Theory of Change Workshop
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team will facilitate a ToC workshop bringing together the Stakeholder Group and the Youth Advisory Group. In this workshop:
- Participants will articulate a shared vision of the long-term change that WAGGGS and the Movement aim to contribute to.
- Long-term outcomes will be defined as the ultimate goals against which progress will be assessed.
- Pathways of change will be mapped, tracing intermediate and short-term outcomes that need to occur to reach the long-term Compass vision.
The outcome of this process will be a draft ToC document.
III) Testing and Validation
The draft ToC will be presented to the World Board, WAGGGS staff representatives, WAGGGS Senior Management Team, Regional Committees, Stakeholder Group, and YAG for review, testing and validation to ensure accuracy, ownership, and alignment.
IV) Finalisation
Once validated, the MEL Team will finalise the ToC and produce:
- A visual diagram illustrating the pathways of change.
- An accompanying narrative detailing the rationale, assumptions, and supporting evidence.