As a change management leader, consultant, and professor at MacMaster University, Chris Rotolo has a lot on his plate! We are so grateful to him for taking the time to speak with Sarah Levis about the Theory of Change workshop he’ll be running in the fall.
Chris has been running Theory of Change workshops with EDGE for several years, helping communities of faith build solid foundations for impactful, innovative, grassroots ministry. Rotolo was running a community program for a church when a member of the EDGE team asked him to deliver the Theory of Change workshop. The project dovetailed nicely with the work he’d been doing for 15 years to develop and deliver college and university programming and his MBA thesis on performance measurement and management in the nonprofit sector. A partnership was born!
The result has been the creation of a unique learning experience at an accessible price point ($50) that students have taken as many as three times, some past and present EDGE staff included. Historically, the course’s structure has been an intensive, three-week combination of live classes, posting your work, and responding to other people's work. The upcoming session will run for eight weeks (October 3–December 9) instead of three.
"We’ve experimented with everything, from one to three weeks... It's exciting to see what people will be able to do with this much space to reflect on and to engage."
Experimentation is always important, but is it the length of the course that determines whether people will take it over and over? Former students speak highly of the workshop and how it’s helped them develop and implement ideas for new ministry. Rev. Hardy Steinke, a three-time participant, has said about his experiences:
"The Theory of Change workshop has been tremendously helpful. Every time I’ve engaged in the process, I've developed a sharper focus on what we want to achieve and how we can get there. The questions I've had to answer in working through the Theory of Change are actually very aligned with the questions that funders ask. We've been awarded significant grant money from federal, provincial, and municipal governments in the last 24 months, for which we are most grateful. Maybe most important of all, the Theory of Change opens a path whereby residents and stakeholders collaborate together to shape the community they desire!"
A completed Theory of Change provides participants with the needed components to start all sorts of important pieces, including: - A case for support
- An Operational Plan
- An Evaluation Plan
Rotolo sees the course as not only useful but important. He’s been surprised at the number of ideas for grassroots initiatives people have brought to the workshops, rooted in their individual areas of expertise, and pleased by how the workshop’s collaborative nature and network effect have multiplied the impact of these ideas. He hopes to continue running the workshop, with a special focus on the evaluation component.
"The whole motivation for starting this workshop series was to help ministries improve their impact. Evaluation is the logical next step."
View Chris Rotolo’s full conversation with Sarah Levis on EDGE’s YouTube channel, and be sure to register for this fall’s section of the Theory of Change workshop!
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