The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance, Second Edition

Theory for Change

How do we develop fundamental changes that lead to good system improvements? What is the relationship between our theories of how our organization works and effective ideas for change? Sometimes changes are made without any understanding of the theories behind the change. We might do what our parents, teachers, or other mentors did when faced with a similar problem. But if we want to develop fundamental changes that go beyond the performance of our current system, it is useful to enumerate theories about why we think our proposal will be a good change. Making theories (or hypotheses) explicit helps all participants in an improvement effort to articulate the basis of predictions that changes will result in improvement. Stating ...