Theory of Change Workshop in Stockholm: A two-way learning process for Vinnova and TIPC

The blog describes a collaborative workshop between Vinnova and TIPC researchers, which was part of the process for developing a Theory of Change for a mission-oriented initiative that could be used as a tool for deep learning, formative evaluation, and guiding system transformation.

Vinnova, kicked off their in-country Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) project with a dedicated Theory of Change (ToC) workshop, in Stockholm, which was attended by members of Vinnova’s mission-oriented teams. This group applies a mission-oriented innovation approach to address societal grand challenges systemically, creating multiple types of value, such as social, environmental and economic. By focusing on challenge-driven projects, and taking a people and place-based approach, the team sets out to support transformative change within key contemporary systems – engaging with everyday food and mobility systems in particular, within the context of health and sustainability, on their path to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

The ToC methodology was applied to the mission-oriented initiative itself, as well as to one of its missions: ensuring every student in Sweden eats healthy, sustainable, and tasty school food. As Jenny Sjöblom, programme manager of the mission team explained, ‘We want to create a sustainable system around school meals, from teaching about food, food production as well as food logistics, food waste and the food experience itself, to using the school kitchen’s resources more extensively and creating new conditions for the farmers to produce sustainable food.’ The school food project was the focus for delivering new working methods and practices for implementing formative evaluation for transformative change.

The ToC workshop, bringing together capacity-building, deep learning and co-production, brought about learning on both sides. The TIPC and Vinnova team began to surface a much deeper understanding of the complexity of the task at hand: enabling transformation. Both teams also developed a shared understanding of the objectives for the collaboration,, among these the articulation of more options for inducing change, and a better scientific understanding of why these options matter.

The initial two-day workshop design, an adaptation of a six-step methodology published by Hivos, led participants towards a visual representation of the mission-oriented team’s Theory of Change, and to the definition of a set of future formative evaluation activities to be conducted by Vinnova and the TIPC research team.

In regular ToC exercises, theory does not play a big role, but in the TIPC methodology it is a core component, as practitioners are focused on identifying transformative outcomes for projects, programs and innovation practices.

Applying this methodology to Vinnova’s mission-oriented approach, and the healthy, sustainable school food project in particular, opened up exciting opportunities for working with transformative outcomes.

The workshop in Stockholm exemplified the need for participants and processes to remain agile and flexible, as exercises often needed to be customised on the spot. Experimentation is a key principle for TIPC members, and agencies are committed to embracing high uncertainty and adapting to unforeseen circumstances.

TIPC’s Academic Director Johan Schot confirmed this, stating: ‘When entering this collaboration, we all knew that the process milestones are not set in stone, and that’s a perk of it. This is an experiment for everyone involved, for us as researchers just as much as for the partners. We want to facilitate second-order learning on both sides and gain the most of this exercise.’