OPTA-BETA (Operationalized Theory of Action) is a powerful, open-source web-based application designed for organizations in the education sector that pursue overarching goals through partnerships with multiple service providers, each with its own goals and strategies. OPTA will provide such “intermediary organizations” and their partners with a structured framework for articulating individual and collective goals and associated strategies, identifying aligned indicators of success, and using the results to paint a richly diagnostic picture of the efficacy of the organization and each partner at short intervals. Organizations that may find OPTA useful include foundations, “harbor-masters,” other multi-partner networks, and state and local departments of education that mobilize their own cohorts of school-support operators.
+
OPTA (Operationalized Theory of Action) BETA is a powerful, open-source web-based application designed for non-
+
+profit organizations in the education sector that pursue overarching goals through partnerships with multiple service
+
+providers, each with its own goals and strategies. OPTA will provide funders and intermediary organizations and their
+
+partners with a structured framework for articulating individual and collective goals and associated strategies, identifying
+
+aligned indicators of success, and using the results to paint a richly diagnostic picture of the efficacy of the organization
+
+and each partner at short intervals.
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I. Theory of Action
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What is an Operationalized Theory of Action?
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A Theory of Action describes the relationship between an organization’s actions and the outcomes it hopes to achieve. It communicates an organization’s primary objective—its raison d’être—and the strategy it expects to follow to fulfill that objective. Designing an effective Theory of Action requires two critical steps:
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A Theory of Action describes the relationship between an organization’s actions and the outcomes it hopes to achieve. It
+
+communicates an organization’s primary objective—its raison d’être—and the strategy it expects to follow to fulfill that
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Step One: Articulate a clear and measurable objective. Step Two: State the actions that, together, will achieve that objective.
+objective.
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These first two steps can be embodied in an “if-then” statement:
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Designing an effective Theory of Action requires two simple yet critical steps:
+
+
Step One: Articulate a clear and measurable objective.
+ Step Two: State the actions that, together, will achieve that objective.
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+
State the actions that, together, will achieve that objective.
If we do “X Action”…
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@@ -77,46 +94,66 @@
I. Theory of Action
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… then we will achieve “Z Objective.”
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For example, here is an expression of “Organization A’s” Theory of Action:
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If Organization A attracts high-performing teachers...
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…that effectively support schools and districts...
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…then Organization A will improve achievement among underserved students.
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OPTA uses an evaluative framework to help translate your Theory of Action into a set of concrete steps that can help you implement the Theory of Action and track your progress in doing so. An evaluative framework reveals the connection (or lack of it) between an organization’s actions and its goals and helps define indicators of progress in moving from actions (or the “if” statements in your Theory of Action), to the result or outcome (or the “then” statements).
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As used in OPTA, the evaluative framework also helps you (i) articulate the rationale behind your particular Theory of Action and (ii) identify what is logically necessary to realize your strategy.
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An effective Theory of Action…
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… is relatively stable but subject to modification. An organization’s Theory of Action will rarely change drastically over time, but an effective Theory of Action statement should invite multiple, iterative modifications. As a Theory of Action is implemented and data points are collected, the Theory of Action statement should be updated, as relevant, to reflect lessons learned. For example, an organization may at first silently assume a necessary precondition to the effective operation of its actions or a supplemental link between those actions and the intended outcome. Alternatively, that organization may silently expect certain prerequisites to be put in place by someone else. When the absence of that action or link contributes to the failure of the organization’s actions to generate their intended effect, the organization will realize that its Theory of Action—and the practical steps it or others must take—will have to change in order to supply the missing prerequisite. Through this iterative process of change, the Theory of Action gains precision and accuracy, and the organization is better able to implement and evaluate strategies.
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… includes measurable actions and objectives. The Theory of Action should be premised on actions and objectives that can be measured in a meaningful way. Even if the most accurate and valid metrics may not be available, using strong proxies can help an organization evaluate and track progress along their Theory of Action.
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How does OPTA Work?
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… contemplates both leading and lagging indicators of success. Often, an organization’s program and services are offered in pursuit of meaningful long-term impact that takes time to actualize. A Theory of Action should therefore contemplate some leading indicators that are reasonably strong predictors of the desired long-term impact. Conversely, if an organization’s program and services are focused almost entirely on producing short-term results, it is critical to consider the long-term implications of such results.
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1 Inputs
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2 Actions
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3 Outcomes
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4 Impact
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… demonstrates a causal relationship between actions and objectives, as well as leading and lagging indicators of success. The Theory of Action statement should present what at first is a theory of a causal relationship between actions and outcomes. An organization’s goals and objectives should be logically connected to, and causally linked to, the organization’s primary activities and actions. The iterative process of change described above reflects the organization’s acquisition of knowledge about how its causal theory lines up with—and can be changed to line up better with—actual practice.
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The following is a brief description of the Evaluative Framework components:
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What indicators may be used to track progress implementing a Theory of Action?
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Inputs
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Inputs are the resources necessary to implement Actions, or the preconditions for your work. Inputs include financial information, such as the amount of funding, and may also include your organization’s and external parties’ commitments of time and personnel. For example, an organization may require salaries for five full-time staff members. You may also need to identify Inputs expected from districts, school leaders and staff, and other third parties that are necessary for the full and effective implementation of all Actions, such as weekly meetings with school principals or classroom space. Attributing an Input to an external party signifies that you have made the necessary arrangements with the other party to assure that Inputs are provided.
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An organization’s ultimate impact varies based on its mission. In some cases, an organization may hope its ultimate impact will be improved school leadership, teacher instruction, parent initiative, or school level finances. In other cases, improvements in student test scores, high school graduation rates, or success in the first year of college might be the desired impact. Each of these is a lagging indicator, which is used to mark the achievement of the organization’s long-term goals and may take several years to actualize. Lagging indicators are necessary, of course, but often will not provide information that is sufficiently timely and contextualized to reveal the short- and mid-term success of an organization’s work—i.e., whether the intermediate changes the organization expects to occur, in order to set the stage for or drive the ultimate impacts, are occurring. Organization’s lagging indicators are not always expected to align with Public Square’s Impact measures, but may directly or indirectly affect them.
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Actions
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Lagging Indicator
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Reveals success achieving long-term goals and confirms trends
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Actions are tangible work or activities necessary to achieve desired outcomes. In addition to articulating Actions, you must also select indicators that measure the implementation of those Actions. For example, an Action may be training principals to be instructional leaders. Implementation of this Action may be measured by tracking the number of principal classroom observations, and the average time spent providing feedback to teachers. If necessary, Actions may need to be attributed to districts, school leaders and staff, and other third parties in order to achieve desired outcomes. Attributing an Action to an external party signifies that you have made the necessary arrangements with the other party to assure that the Actions occur.
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May be used to confirm or contradict expected outcomes and effectiveness of programs
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Leading Indicator
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Reveals if a Theory of Action is being implemented well
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Outcomes
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Provides timely and contextualized information that can drive short- and mid-term adjustments to actions
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Outcomes are the expected short- and mid-term effects of the Actions. In addition to defining Outcomes, you must also select indicators to measure whether the Outcomes are materializing as planned. These Outcomes may be leading indicators, such as measuring the effectiveness of training principals to be instructional leaders by surveying teachers about the quality of observations and feedback sessions. They also may be lagging indicators, such as measuring the effectiveness of tutoring sessions and workshops designed for the lowest-performing students by calculating the gap in test scores between the highest and lowest performing students.
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Indicators tracking Actions and indicators tracking Outcomes differ in the following respect. Action indicators measure whether an Action is implemented, (for example, counting the number of feedback sessions), but do not speak to the quality of a given Action. Outcome metrics assess the effectiveness of an Action. This enables you and your partner organization to differentiate between Actions that are ostensibly ineffective simply because they are not occurring and Actions that are actually ineffective. In such a case, the Actions are undertaken, but they simply do not lead to the expected Outcome.
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Impact
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Impact is the long-term result of initiatives across a portfolio of funded initiatives. By engaging with your organization, your organizing partner (usually a funder) has made the judgment that your organizational objectives, or Outcomes, sufficiently link to their Impact.
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Your Theory of Action should link your organization’s work with these Impact measures. For example, although providing breakfast to students in the morning may not directly have an effect on test scores, a Theory of Action can demonstrate how ensuring that students are nourished in the morning will influence their ability to pay attention in class, to retain information and learn, and thus to raise their scores. Conversely, your work may be focused entirely on raising student achievement, thus overlapping your desired Outcomes with your organizing partner’s Impact.
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What is the value of this evaluative framework?
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One value of the evaluative framework is to diagnose weaknesses, hidden assumptions, or missing steps in a Theory of Action based on collected data. Although the “theory” driving the Theory of Action may draw upon well-established social science and research or hard-won practical experience, it may lack precision and accuracy in a given setting. The Theory of Action may be incomplete due to failure to identify hidden assumptions—often about what external stakeholders must do for an organization’s Actions to mature into Impacts. The evaluative framework in OPTA is designed as a logic model to test, as well as implement, the Theory of Action under a particular set of circumstances.
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In order to have a Theory of Action that effectively links Inputs to Impact, each step along the evaluative framework must be logically connected to the following step. In other words, the Inputs should include all of the logically necessary resources for executing the Actions; the Actions—by themselves and without other unstated activities—can be reasonably expected to produce the Outcomes; and the Outcomes are reasonably expected to lead to the Impact. Identification of the critical elements in a Theory of Action enables an organization to test whether there are gaps in the contemplated chain of activities.
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The evaluative framework helps diagnose mistaken assumptions about a link between a specified action and its intended result; such assumptions must be made explicit for the strategy to be successful. For example, a stated Action may be to conduct professional development sessions, and the success—or, the desired Outcome—of these sessions may require a particular level of teacher participation. If so, and assuming that teacher participation is the responsibility of the relevant school or district, not the organization itself, this condition or Input must be explicitly stated. Otherwise, if the desired Outcome does not materialize from these professional development sessions, though the organization seems to have fulfilled all of the Actions it specified in the logic model, both the organization and Public Square will find it difficult to diagnose and resolve the problem.
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Predicts future change in a lagging indicator
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Determining whether the important intermediate changes and effects are occurring, which in turn helps to predict future change in a lagging indicator, requires the use of leading indicators. For example, because increases in student attendance or decreases in teacher absenteeism often correlate with increases in student achievement, an organization’s Theory of Action may call for efforts to improve student attendance and reduce teach absenteeism, with the expectation that increases in student achievement will follow. In that case, changes in a school’s average student attendance and teacher absenteeism rates can serve as leading indicators of success that reveal whether the organization’s Theory of Action is being implemented properly and provide an early indication of whether student achievement levels can be expected to improve in the following months or even years.
The Center for Public Research and Leadership (“CPRL”) is an emerging partnership of top professional schools that prepares students for leadership positions in public education organizations committed to improving the life chances of all children. The program aspires to bring together upper-level graduate students in business, policy, education, and law from universities across the nation to study and engage in consulting projects serving public- and social-sector organizations undertaking and supporting transformational change in K-12 education and in the public sector as a whole. We offer graduate students the rigorous, multi-disciplinary, academic and experiential preparation they need to flourish in exciting leadership, management, and professional positions in those same organizations while simultaneously offering the organizations high-quality, low-cost consulting support.
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+ OPTA(BETA) - About OPTA
+
+
+
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+
+
OPTA (Operationalized Theory of Action) BETA is a powerful, open-source web-based application designed for non-
+
+profit organizations in the education sector that pursue overarching goals through partnerships with multiple service
+
+providers, each with its own goals and strategies. OPTA will provide funders and intermediary organizations and their
+
+partners with a structured framework for articulating individual and collective goals and associated strategies, identifying
+
+aligned indicators of success, and using the results to paint a richly diagnostic picture of the efficacy of the organization
+
+and each partner at short intervals.
+
+
+
What is an Operationalized Theory of Action?
+
+
+
A Theory of Action describes the relationship between an organization’s actions and the outcomes it hopes to achieve. It
+
+communicates an organization’s primary objective—its raison d’être—and the strategy it expects to follow to fulfill that
+
+objective.
+
+
Designing an effective Theory of Action requires two simple yet critical steps:
+
+
Step One: Articulate a clear and measurable objective.
+ Step Two: State the actions that, together, will achieve that objective.
+
+
State the actions that, together, will achieve that objective.
+
+
If we do “X Action”…
+
+
+
… and “Y Action” …
+
=
+
… then we will achieve “Z Objective.”
+
+
+
OPTA uses an evaluative framework to help translate your Theory of Action into a set of concrete steps that can help you implement the Theory of Action and track your progress in doing so. An evaluative framework reveals the connection (or lack of it) between an organization’s actions and its goals and helps define indicators of progress in moving from actions (or the “if” statements in your Theory of Action), to the result or outcome (or the “then” statements).
+
+
As used in OPTA, the evaluative framework also helps you (i) articulate the rationale behind your particular Theory of Action and (ii) identify what is logically necessary to realize your strategy.
+
+
+
+
How does OPTA Work?
+
+
+
+
+
1 Inputs
+
+
+
+
2 Actions
+
+
+
+
3 Outcomes
+
+
+
+
4 Impact
+
+
+
+
+
The following is a brief description of the Evaluative Framework components:
+
+
+
1 Inputs
+
+
+
Inputs are the resources necessary to implement Actions, or the preconditions for your work. Inputs include financial information, such as the amount of funding, and may also include your organization’s and external parties’ commitments of time and personnel. For example, an organization may require salaries for five full-time staff members. You may also need to identify Inputs expected from districts, school leaders and staff, and other third parties that are necessary for the full and effective implementation of all Actions, such as weekly meetings with school principals or classroom space. Attributing an Input to an external party signifies that you have made the necessary arrangements with the other party to assure that Inputs are provided.
+
+
+
2 Actions
+
+
+
Actions are tangible work or activities necessary to achieve desired outcomes. In addition to articulating Actions, you must also select indicators that measure the implementation of those Actions. For example, an Action may be training principals to be instructional leaders. Implementation of this Action may be measured by tracking the number of principal classroom observations, and the average time spent providing feedback to teachers. If necessary, Actions may need to be attributed to districts, school leaders and staff, and other third parties in order to achieve desired outcomes. Attributing an Action to an external party signifies that you have made the necessary arrangements with the other party to assure that the Actions occur.
+
+
+
3 Outcomes
+
+
+
Outcomes are the expected short- and mid-term effects of the Actions. In addition to defining Outcomes, you must also select indicators to measure whether the Outcomes are materializing as planned. These Outcomes may be leading indicators, such as measuring the effectiveness of training principals to be instructional leaders by surveying teachers about the quality of observations and feedback sessions. They also may be lagging indicators, such as measuring the effectiveness of tutoring sessions and workshops designed for the lowest-performing students by calculating the gap in test scores between the highest and lowest performing students.
+
+
Indicators tracking Actions and indicators tracking Outcomes differ in the following respect. Action indicators measure whether an Action is implemented, (for example, counting the number of feedback sessions), but do not speak to the quality of a given Action. Outcome metrics assess the effectiveness of an Action. This enables you and your partner organization to differentiate between Actions that are ostensibly ineffective simply because they are not occurring and Actions that are actually ineffective. In such a case, the Actions are undertaken, but they simply do not lead to the expected Outcome.
+
+
+
4 Impact
+
+
+
Impact is the long-term result of initiatives across a portfolio of funded initiatives. By engaging with your organization, your organizing partner (usually a funder) has made the judgment that your organizational objectives, or Outcomes, sufficiently link to their Impact.
+
+
Your Theory of Action should link your organization’s work with these Impact measures. For example, although providing breakfast to students in the morning may not directly have an effect on test scores, a Theory of Action can demonstrate how ensuring that students are nourished in the morning will influence their ability to pay attention in class, to retain information and learn, and thus to raise their scores. Conversely, your work may be focused entirely on raising student achievement, thus overlapping your desired Outcomes with your organizing partner’s Impact.
+
+
What is the value of this evaluative framework?
+
+
One value of the evaluative framework is to diagnose weaknesses, hidden assumptions, or missing steps in a Theory of Action based on collected data. Although the “theory” driving the Theory of Action may draw upon well-established social science and research or hard-won practical experience, it may lack precision and accuracy in a given setting. The Theory of Action may be incomplete due to failure to identify hidden assumptions—often about what external stakeholders must do for an organization’s Actions to mature into Impacts. The evaluative framework in OPTA is designed as a logic model to test, as well as implement, the Theory of Action under a particular set of circumstances.
+
+
In order to have a Theory of Action that effectively links Inputs to Impact, each step along the evaluative framework must be logically connected to the following step. In other words, the Inputs should include all of the logically necessary resources for executing the Actions; the Actions—by themselves and without other unstated activities—can be reasonably expected to produce the Outcomes; and the Outcomes are reasonably expected to lead to the Impact. Identification of the critical elements in a Theory of Action enables an organization to test whether there are gaps in the contemplated chain of activities.
+
+
The evaluative framework helps diagnose mistaken assumptions about a link between a specified action and its intended result; such assumptions must be made explicit for the strategy to be successful. For example, a stated Action may be to conduct professional development sessions, and the success—or, the desired Outcome—of these sessions may require a particular level of teacher participation. If so, and assuming that teacher participation is the responsibility of the relevant school or district, not the organization itself, this condition or Input must be explicitly stated. Otherwise, if the desired Outcome does not materialize from these professional development sessions, though the organization seems to have fulfilled all of the Actions it specified in the logic model, both the organization and Public Square will find it difficult to diagnose and resolve the problem.
+
+
+