Programme Theory of Change and Logic Model: Uncovering the Blackbox of Social Programmes

INTRODUCTION

A theory of change is “an explicit theory or model of how an intervention, such as a project, a program, a strategy, an initiative, or a policy, contributes to a chain of intermediate results and finally to the intended or observed outcomes.” (Funnel & Rogers, 2011, p. xix) . A theory of change describes how change occurs logically from the programme to its intended outcomes, and how these outcomes can be attained. It plays an essential role in social programme planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. It is therefore important for social service professionals who are involved in programming to acquire the knowledge and skills to create and use theories of change effectively.

The course will equip learners with the knowledge and skills to create a theory of change for social programmes and present a theory of change as a logic model. The theory of change will in turn enable learners to plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, and communicate the programme more effectively.

Learners will gain knowledge of the basic principles and logic behind the creation of a theory of change, and the skills to create a theory of change and logic model for a chosen social programme. These knowledge and skills are transferable and scalable to other social programmes when they return to their workplaces.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The course will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to create theories of change for social propgrammes. After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

Define what is a theory of change
Explain the role of a theory of change in social programming
Create a theory of change for a social programme and present it as a logic model.

MODE OF DELIVERY

Facilitated Classroom Training and e-Learning (Blended learning)

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Social service professionals, board members and corporates who are involved in planning, implementing, evaluating, and communicating about programmes, interventions and services. It is also suitable for anyone who is interested in learning about theory of change

AWARD

Participants who meet 75% class attendance will be awarded a Certificate of Achievement by the Academy of Human Development and Social Service Institute.

COURSE FEES

Fees	S$
Course Fees (GST Included)	$1,188

Subsidies/ Funding	S$
Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident Applicants:
SkillsFuture Singapore funding at 70% per pax for Singaporeans/PR. For self-sponsored applicants, SkillsFuture Credits can be used to further offset nett fees after funding.	$356.40

TRAINERS

Mr Lim Wei Loong is a full-time researcher at Fei Yue Community Services, where he is actively involved in supporting the utilisation of research to inform practice and conducing research and programme evaluation trainings for Fei Yue’s researchers and practitioners. Having had more than ten years of experience conducting research in the practice context, Wei Loong understands the challenges social service agencies faced when utilising and conducting research. This has enabled him to deliver research trainings that are practice-based and responsive to realities on the ground. Wei Loong holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Philosophy in Social and Developmental Psychology from the University of Cambridge, a Graduate Diploma of Social Sciences (Professional Counselling) from Swinburne University, and a Master of Science in Evidence Based Health Care from the University of Oxford. He is the recipient of the 2021 Gillian Nicholls Prize for an outstanding dissertation in the subject of evidence-based healthcare awarded by the University of Oxford’s Kellogg College. Wei Loong has also completed the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance (ACLP) and is currently pursuing his PhD at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Wei Loong currently holds associate positions at various local Institutes of Higher Learning. He has also taught developmental psychology and social programme evaluation for other Academy of Human Development courses. Besides, Wei Loong also serves as a member of the Agency of Integrated Care’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Ms Denise Liu (co-trainer) is a full-time researcher at Fei Yue Community Services, where she is involved in the supporting programme evaluation and practice research. Besides having over 12 years of experience conducting practice research and programme evaluation in the social service sector, Denise also practiced as a psychologist working with child abuse victims, and a case manager working with low-income families with home ownership aspirations. Her practice experience and evaluation of over 40 programmes and services ranging from structured therapeutic groupwork programmes to community development initiatives, have given her insight into the challenges and constraints faced by social service agencies when conducting practice research and evaluation.

She has been teaching and conducting training at institutions such as the Social Service Institute (SSI) and the Singapore University for Social Sciences (SUSS) since 2013. Besides teaching research methods courses, she has also developed and facilitated training courses to equip social service practitioners with the skills to use standardised assessment tools such as the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool and the Youth Levels of Service Case Management Inventory (YLS-CMI).

Denise holds a Master in Social Science (Psychology) from the National University of Singapore and has completed the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA). She has also provided research and evaluation trainings, in both her professional capacity and as a volunteer, to over 200 social service practitioners.

Mr Daryl Tan(co-trainer) is a full-time researcher at Fei Yue Community Services, where he focuses on knowledge dissemination, projects regarding strategic and corporate planning and programme development. In his six years of experience in the social service sector, he has also served as a programme coordinator to support students from low-income families in their educational aspirations. He also oversees the overall training pathways and development of volunteers in a uniformed youth organisation.

Daryl holds a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) from Yale-NUS College as part of the inaugural cohort, and has completed the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance (ACLP) and is also a practitioner of design thinking. His educational and work experiences have helped him develop principles and guidelines in the process of innovation and design of programmes and services from a person-centric perspective.

APPLICATION and ENQUIRIES

Ms Rexanne Yap

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 6593 5283

Course Schedule

Dates	5 Feb 24 - 9am – 5.30pm (Zoom) 6 Feb 24 – 9am - 5.30pm (Classroom)
Trainer(s)	Mr Lim Wei Loong and Ms Denise Liu (Co-Trainer）
Venue(s)	Academy of Human Development