What We Do

ActKnowledge acts as partner with community organizations, not-for-profits, foundations, and government agencies in a research process that illuminates how programs and policies actually work. ActKnowledge uses social science theory and lessons from the field to inform social action, increase the knowledge base, and enable everyone involved to clearly understand the expectations and outcomes of community initiatives.  It is our goal to use this action research approach to inform public policy, which seldom benefits from the knowledge and experience of the people it most affects.

ActKnowledge has developed a methodology for social sector planning, evaluation, and implementation tracking that is scientifically rigorous but gives organizations the participatory input and flexibility they need to work happily and effectively.  Our methodology is designed to the end that organizations become outcomes-based--that is, they organize their work around the outcomes they expect to achieve.  Our methodology comprises the following three related elements:

• Theory of Change
• Evaluation
• Capacity-building

can be a planning and issue-framing tool, a learning and evaluation tool, or both.  Theory of Change is a participatory yet rigorous process whereby groups identify the conditions they believe have to unfold for their long-term goals to be met.  These conditions are modeled as outcomes or, more precisely, desired outcomes, arranged graphically in a causal framework.  The framework provides a working model against which to test hypotheses and assumptions about what actions will best bring about the outcomes in the model.

Recognized as leaders in the development, training and practice of the Theory of Change (TOC) method, ActKnowledge uses TOC as a foundation for credible and relevant evaluation, instilling ownership of the initiative among all stakeholders, and building organizational capacity.  We work with organizations in a process that begins with an outcomes-based approach to program design, creates a detailed framework for decision-making and evaluation, and provides a practical tool for ongoing management and review.

ActKnowledge has a well-developed practice in evaluation of programs and initiatives.  In ActKnowledge’s methodology, evaluation forms the cornerstone of an organization’s ability to track progress on its outcomes.  Our evaluation work is theory-based; that is, it begins with a Theory of Change that articulates what the program or initiative is expected to achieve.  Social change projects have all kinds of outcomes:  A Theory of Change addresses the problem of which ones to capture and how to capture them by working out in advance which outcomes are expected to occur and in what sequence.  The indicators developed as part of the TOC instruct the evaluator on how to capture the outcomes in logical steps (A>>B>>C>>D) that are unlikely to occur by chance.  Theory-based evaluation ameliorates problems of attribution (how can we be sure that this or that outcome was caused by our intervention?) by mapping the group's hypothesis of which interventions will lead to which outcomes.  Also, in airing the group's assumptions about how the environment supports or poses barriers to the intervention, TOC separates change due to designed interventions from change due to other influences.  If outcomes turn out as intended, they corroborate the TOC.  If not, evaluators can assess whether the model was mistaken or whether the different outcome resulted from an implementation problem.

The third step in aligning social change work around outcomes lies in building an organization's evaluative capacity; that is, its capacity to collect and engage with outcomes-related data and to re-evaluate and adjust its Theory of Change according to what has been learned.  ActKnowledge is skilled in combining qualitative and quantitative methods in evaluation and in designing both summative and formative evaluation capability.  Through working with organizations over long periods we not only do specific evaluations but help organizations design and implement efficient and sustainable evaluation systems to track their impact in the world.  We stand fully behind the position that social change inititiatives will be more effective and efficient when organizations at all levels can collect and interpret data on the implementation and effectiveness of their work.

We seek to conduct evaluation research that can inform practice and reveal lessons for the field.  We actively pursue using cumulative evaluation research to advance evaluation practice and influence policy through participation in practitioner and research networks, meta-analysis and policy papers. 

 to the on-the-ground work of social change comes from a strong base in social science research and theory. We see research and social change practice as parallel processes of knowledge production, each informing the other. As environmental psychologists, we strive to capture the social, historical, political and spatial/physical environments in which problems are embedded and solutions are to be found.  ActKnowledge works closely with stakeholders in community initiatives to understand their work and the context in which their work occurs. We evaluate the results of social change endeavors through a systematic analysis that enables our clients and partner organizations to refine and improve their tools and strategies. We also strive to apply the lessons learned to the broader field of action research for social change.