Theory of Change
Theory of Change (ToC) is the reference framework for articulating a plan to achieve positive social and environmental impact. Learn how to develop and make use of a robust ToC to strategise and measure your social impact.
- Format: self-paced (6h)
- Next live sessions: start Jun 13
- Price: as of 179€

Creating positive impact in a complex environment requires a sound strategy and plan. A Theory of Change is all about that. It helps you design a strategy for achieving impacts whilst clarifying causal linkages between your activities and outcomes. It is a solid foundation for defining impact indicators and measuring impact. This course is a must have for anyone serious about pursuing impact goals and tracking performance.
Who is this course for?
This course is for you if you are working on designing, evaluating or investing in social and environmental innovations. Whether you are acting as an entrepreneur, a programme manager, an employee within a public agency or a company with sustainability objectives, an investor, consultant or a coach, this course will help you build and evaluate the Theory of Change of impact initiatives.
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Beginner to intermediate
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Exam and renowned certification
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Bite-sized videos and 40+ exercises
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6 Hours of content
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Downloadable tools and templates to support practice
What you will learn
- Identify key milestones and resources needed to develop a sound impact strategy or ToC
- Perform backwards mapping to highlight causal linkages between activities and outcomes
- Define compelling impact indicators and create a measurement plan to prove results
- Discover best-practices to engage your team and stakeholders in the ToC design process
Theory of Change
Course modules
The course is structured around 8 lessons guiding you from the foundations to more advanced practises to develop a Theory of Change.
This chapter will establish the foundation for developing a social impact strategy. To start with, an introduction of key concepts and common terminology will get everyone on the same page. Then, we will go through the key milestones in Theory of Change (ToC) development and you will learn how to examine complex social problems based on real-life examples. We will discuss how to formulate impact goals for your proposed solution and wrap up the first chapter by introducing best practices to effectively involve external and internal stakeholders in the process.
This chapter will empower you to translate impact goals into pathways of change connecting outcomes to the characteristics of your solution or intervention. You be equipped to confidently perform backwards mapping thanks to case studies and tools. You will learn how to define and assess causal linkages and assumptions between result. This chapter concludes with best practices on how to create a compelling narrative of your ToC to mobilise your team and external stakeholders around your goals and plan for success.
This chapter will empower you develop a measurement plan based on well-defined impact indicators. You will learn best-practises for collecting impact data to validate and improve your ToC. Case studies, templates and tools will be provided so you can take steps towards measuring and managing your impact.
Get to know your trainers
Sharon Weir
Co-Founder of 4th Wheel Social Impact
Tatjana Mauthofer
Senior M&E Specialist at Mainlevel Consulting
More about 4th Wheel Social Impact
As a research and advisory firm, 4th Wheel provides valid and sophisticated insights to social welfare programmes to enable data-driven decisions. Practical and culturally relevant social impact assessment strategies are designed for organisations that involve all stakeholders, not just evaluation experts. Impact evaluation is incorporated into programme design by developing contextual Theory of Change (ToC) frameworks and building impact-focused solutions.
More about Mainlevel Consulting
Mainlevel provides services in monitoring, evaluation and digitalisation to organisations in the public and private sector. From developing digital monitoring systems and conducting evaluations to strategic guidance on digitalisation and developing IT solutions, they are committed to enabling our clients to manage complex programmes more effectively and efficiently.
Discover our packages

Autonomous Learner
€179*
The learning experience that fits your busy working schedule and allows you to learn at your own pace from wherever you are.
- 6 hours of bite-sized content at your fingertips
- 40+ exercises
- Case studies and practitioner insights
- Examination and valuable Certificate of Completion
- Online community with impact-driven practitioners
- Access to the platform for 12 months
- Downloadable tools to practice while learning
- 15 days money back guarantee

Social Learner
€349*
Learn online by following live sessions with the trainer and a group of like-minded peers on a weekly basis.
- 6 hours of bite-sized content at your fingertips
- 40+ exercises
- Case studies and practitioner insights
- Examination and valuable Certificate of Completion
- Online community with impact-driven practitioners
- Access to the platform for 12 months
- Downloadable tools to practice while learning
- 15 days money back guarantee
No problem, you can mark your preferred payment option in the check-out phase
Discover our options For Teams
Apply for a scholarship discount of 25-80% off the normal course price
Upcoming social learning opportunity
Cohort June 2023
Registration open!
- Tuesday 13th June
- Thursday 22nd June
- Thursday 29th June
From 2:00PM – 4:00PM CET

Certificate of completion
After finishing the training and successfully passing the final examination, you can earn the course Official Certificate of Completion co-delivered by Mainlevel Consulting, 4th Wheel Social Impact and Efiko Academy.
Contact Timothy
CO-FOUNDER
Did you know that 92% of our course takers are satisfied? That’s why we boldly guarantee that our courses will not let you down. Didn’t get what you expected from the course? Let us know and get a full reimbursement up to 15 days as an Autonomous Learner, or up to 5 days as a Social Learner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can't find the answer to your question? Contact us on hello@efiko.academy.
This course is mainly designed for social entrepreneurs, NGO leaders, Measurement & Evaluation officers and intermediaries supporting social purpose organisations. While prior practical experience is a plus, it is no pre-requisite to start the course. The complexity of the content increases with every chapter but many examples, exercises and case studies will help you build self-confidence and deep understanding of each step of the journey.Â
Yes, a certificate signed by 4th Wheel Social Impact, Mainlevel Consulting and Efiko Academy, is provided upon completion of the course.
In all packages, you’re invited to join the community platform where you can ask your burning questions.Â
In other cases, support@efiko.academy is always open for questions.
For now, the course is only available in English.
The content will soon be subtitled in various languages.
After finishing the training and successfully passing the final examination, you can earn the course Official Certificate of Completion co-delivered by Mainlevel Consulting, 4th Wheel Social Impact and Efiko Academy.
As a research and advisory firm, 4th Wheel provides valid and sophisticated insights into social welfare programmes to enable data-driven decisions. Practical and culturally relevant social impact assessment strategies are designed for organisations that involve all stakeholders, not just evaluation experts. Impact evaluation is incorporated into programme design by developing contextual Theory of Change (ToC) frameworks and building impact-focused solutions.

Mainlevel provides services in monitoring, evaluation and digitalisation to organisations in the public and private sectors. From developing digital monitoring systems and conducting evaluations to strategic guidance on digitalisation and developing IT solutions, they are committed to enabling our clients to manage complex programmes more effectively and efficiently.
Yes, we offer the option to pay with credit card (Mastercard, VISA) or PayPal. If you would like to pay with your debit card, we advise you to create a free prepaid PayPal account here and use it to make your payment.
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Yes, you can secure several tickets at once by contacting us at hello@efiko.academy. Include the number of people you would like to enroll and we’ll get back to you promptly. We also offer B2B/group deals. Don’t hesitate to contact us to request a demo.
Yes, Stripe processes payments in 130+ currencies. PayPal also allows you to convert money to a different currency.
Yes, we can provide an invoice or proof of purchase so you can get reimbursed by your employer or company. Simply reach out to us at hello@efiko.academy stating the course name and package you'd like to take and for how many people.Â