Community Wellbeing· Medium risk

Create a programme theory of change

Draft a theory of change linking activities to outcomes and impact.

When to use this prompt

Reach for this prompt when you need to draft a theory of change linking activities to outcomes and impact. It's designed for Programme manager. Typically used within Programme design work.

Draft with AI, then have a colleague verify facts and tone before use.

How to use it

1
Gather your inputs
You'll need: Programme concept, Intended participants, Desired long-term impact.
Nice to have: Assumptions, Constraints.
2
Fill in the template
Copy the template below and replace every bracketed placeholder with real, local context. Keep names and safeguarding details out.
3
Run it in your AI tool
Paste into your preferred AI assistant. Ask a follow-up if the output misses your association's tone or context.
4
Review with the checklist
Work through the human-review checklist below before you send, publish or act on the output.

Prefer a guided flow? Adapt with the guided builder — it fills placeholders from your association profile.

Prompt template

Draft a theory of change for the programme below, with: inputs, activities, outputs, short-term outcomes, medium-term outcomes, long-term impact, and named assumptions. Flag any assumption that has not been evidenced. Do not fabricate research.\n\nProgramme: {{programme}}\nParticipants: {{participants}}\nImpact: {{impact}}

Replace bracketed placeholders with real context. Never paste identifying details about children, health or safeguarding cases.

Human review checklist

Tick each before you send or publish the output.

Are assumptions explicit and testable?
Do outcomes belong to participants, not the organisation?
Has someone from the community reviewed it?

Why this prompt works

A named-assumptions section keeps the AI honest about what is guessed vs known.

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Adapt with the guided builder