{"id":"theory-of-change","title":"Theory of change and outcome pathways","summary":"An evaluation approach linking assumptions and conditions to explain how activities contribute to intermediate outcomes and eventual change.","concepts":["Activities and outcomes: distinguish work performed from changes that occur","Pathway assumptions: conditions required for one outcome to lead to another","Updating evidence: revise explanations in response to observations"],"application":"Distinguish activity volume from actual outcomes in education or organizational improvement and define indicators to examine each connection.","limitations":"A persuasive pathway does not establish causality. Consider external factors and alternative explanations.","directions":["Prior clarification: define expected pathways and assumptions.","Evidence-based adaptation: revise pathways in response to unexpected outcomes."],"category":"Business and customers","kind":"framework","kind_label":"Framework","persona_ids":["management-consultant","manager","instructional-designer"],"revision":1,"updated_at":"2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z","sources":[{"title":"Theory of change in ten steps","url":"https://www.thinknpc.org/resource-hub/ten-steps/","publisher":"New Philanthropy Capital","edition":"2019-10-09","region":"UK charity and public-benefit strategy and evaluation method","checked_at":"2026-10-07","reuse":"Independent editorial summary and source link; the original text is not republished."}],"review":{"status":"source-checked-editorial","expert_reviewed":false},"editorial_note":"Editorial English translation of the Korean edition. No professional translation or occupational expert review has been completed. Translation does not change the source jurisdiction.","language":"en","translation":{"status":"current","source_language":"ko","source_version":"kb-fa7cb3030b93c7cd","translated_at":"2026-10-09","professional_reviewed":false},"trust":"reference-data","version":"kb-0e20d8905646de50","links":{"document":"/en/knowledge/theory-of-change","markdown":"/en/knowledge/theory-of-change.md","api":"/api/v1/knowledge/theory-of-change?lang=en"}}