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Young Professionals In Foreign Policy
Strategy to Task
The “Theory of Change” Concept for
Setting Organizational Goals and
Achieving Them
Joshua Marcuse
@joshuamarcuse
jmarcuse@gmail.com
7.26.13

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why are we here?Why do we care about strategy?

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IMPACT
but how?

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HOW
do I translate a vision into concrete tasks?
do I know where to focus?
do I allocate resources – time and money?
do I measure progress?
do I motivate people?

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στρατηγίαSTRATEGY
Strategy was lifted from the military arts and is now
applied to everything
στρατηγία,,:: Ancient Greek, pronounced strategia,
translates to “office of general, command, generalship”

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And when I say, everything, I mean everything…
Today, we are focused on
organizational strategy,
and one particular approach,
the Theory of Change

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But first, who am I, and why should you listen to me?
I am NOT an expert.
I am a practitioner. I am a peer.
I’ve had some relevant experience to draw from:

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What are we going to discuss from 2 – 3 pm today?
Introduce the Theory of Change model of strategy
Understand how to break a vision down into
tangible goals and projects
Q&A: Discuss strategy in the real world
Learn to apply this model to current and future
work so it can help you get stuff done

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What is strategy?
There are dozens of definitions of strategy
What can we all agree a strategy is?
- It is a pattern of decisions and actions intended
to cause a result
- It is not a to-do list
The best approaches to modern strategy combine
10 elements in 4 categories (4C)

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4 C’s of a good strategy
concept context CoA choices
(Courses of Action)
What steps are
you going to
take?
What is the
situation?
What decisions
are you going to
make about how
to do it?
What needs to be
done and why?

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10 components of the 4 C’s of strategy
concept context CoA choices
(Courses of Action)
Mission
Vision
Metrics
Activities
Goals
Outcomes
Outputs
SWOT
Situation: 6W
Timing
Resources
Priorities

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why start with a theory?
Your worldview is what differentiates
strategy from action-planning
Strategy is not a to-do list
Your worldview is based on your theory
of how the world works
Your theory of how and why
change happens
your
Theory of Change

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Your worldview is the synthesis that connects
your interpretation of the past
to create
with your
change in the world you seek to create.
vision of the future
a compelling narrative
That is a Theory of Change
of the

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What does a Theory of Change look like in action?
Actions Outputs Outcomes Goals Mission Vision

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strategy begins with the right concept
Mission
Vision
concept

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What is your Mission and Vision?
Vision
What is the change that you want to see in the world?
What is the impact you want to have?
What will your organization do to accomplish this vision?
What will you be to achieve this?
Mission

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Mission
Vision
concept
SWOT
Situation
context
Vision… check!
Mission…check!
Now what?
Assess the context

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Establish the situation by looking outward
Situation: 6W
• Who has formal authority?
• Who has informal authority?
• Who controls resources?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• What does each
stakeholder want to see?
• What do they want to
avoid?
• Who wants me to
succeed? Who doesn’t?
• What is the history of this?
• How much time do I have?
who
what
when
where
how
why
Ask questions like:

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Then look inward, with a SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
ThreatsOpportunities
S
TO
W

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time to start planning and doing
Mission
Vision
SWOT
Situation
CoA
Activities
Goals
Metrics
concept context

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Mission
What conditions need to be present to achieve these goal? Be SPECIFIC!
What outcomes are needed for the mission to succeed?
Goal Definition
Outcome Identification
For the mission to be successful, what has to happen?
…obstacles to overcome… changes to make… stuff to create…
How are we going to make those things happen?

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What concrete, measurable results do I need to produce?
Be TANGIBLE!
You must maintain alignment between vision and
action
Mission
Goals
Outcomes
Output Identification
Activities
How will I produce these results? Be SMART about it

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Be SMART about it?
Specific
Measurable
Accountable
Realistic
Time-defined
Motivational
Attainable
Assignable
Achievable
Resourced
Relevant
Tangible
Goals should be…

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And, while we’re at it, make it a little RACI…
Responsible Accountable
InformedConsulted
I
AR
C

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Vision
How do we put it all together?
Actions
Goal
Outputs
Outcomes
Mission
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Goal 1 Goal 32

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Outputs are the tangible, concrete
results of your actions. This is what
your organization delivers.
The production of output requires
the consumption of resources.
Strategies often fail because
output and outcome aren’t linked.
Look for hidden “outputs” like
overhead or low-return outputs that
suck time and resources.
Outputs must be measurable and
well-defined.
Outcomes are the impacts (or
changes in the world) that are
required to fulfill your mission.
Often inspiring and aspirational,
they serve as critical touchpoints to
your goals.
Ask, “What conditions need to be
present for me to be successful in
my mission?” The answer points you
to the outcomes (or end-states)
you need to achieve.
They do not need to be
measurable.
vs.outcome output
qualitative quantitative

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Metrics deserve their own discussion in another
session. They are very important, but really tricky.
To begin, focus on measuring four things:
Be skeptical about metrics, but be even more
skeptical about the absence of metrics
you manage only what you measure
Inputs Outputs
Hours Dollars

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now that you know what to do, focus on
EXECUTION… how to do it
Mission
Vision
SWOT
Situation
CoA
Activities
Goals
Metrics
concept context Choice
Resources
Priorities
Timing
Execution requires choices:
prioritization,
resource allocation,
and sequencing

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Strategy without execution is a waste of time
What separates high performing organizations from the rest
is rarely strategy. It is usually execution.
Execution is about choices. No organization has infinite
resources to implement a strategy, so ultimately, execution
is about making three choices:
– Prioritization
– Money
– Time
To make these decisions strategically, go back to your
Theory of Change and trace the impact back to your
mission.
investments
How important?
How much money?
How much time?

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Vision
The advantage of the Theory of Change model is it informs
mission-risk based choices about priority, money, and time
Actions
Goal 2
Outputs
Outcomes
Mission
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Out-
comes
Out-
puts
Actions
Goal 1 Goal 3

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10 components of the 4 C’s of strategy
context choices
(Courses of Action)
concept
Mission
Vision
CoA
Metrics
Activities
Goals
Outcomes
Outputs
SWOT
Situation: 6W
Timing
Resources
Priorities

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A Theory of Change delivers 5 benefits
Aligns strategy to task, drives execution in pursuit of vision
Provides a framework to measure progress towards
achieving vision, mission, and goals
Enables an organization to rally around a common purpose
and trace line-of-sight for every activity and person
Informs strategic decisions on priorities, time, and resources
Helps an organization to communicate its goals and
approach in clear and compelling narrative

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questions?

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Theory of Change Worksheet
Outcome
Activities
Outputs
Mission
Vision

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YPFP’s mission is to foster the next generation of foreign
policy leaders by providing young professionals with the
knowledge, skills, exposure, and relationships to tackle
critical global challenges over the course of their careers.
Staff Retreat
Vision
(What) Audience
(Who)
4 Pillars
(How)
Impact
(Why)
Timeline
(When)
Young Professionals in Foreign Policy as a case study