Guidance and resources
The Theory of Change Builder is a free online tool for theory of change development.
It offers a user-friendly experience which streamlines the process of building a theory of change and makes it easier to convert a Core Theory of Change to an Enhanced Theory of Change.
The Theory of Change Builder was developed to help address several common challenges including:
- uncertainty when creating a theory of change from scratch with little prior experience or training
- confusion about theory of change terminology used in the templates
- the user experience of creating theories of change across multiple softwares, mainly PowerPoint and Word, and regularly updating them
- making theory of change diagrams visually appealing, consistent, and compliant with accessibility standards.
The key features of the Theory of Change Builder are:
- Step-by-step guided support to build a theory of change from scratch, or by adapting example theories of change provided
- Built-in definitions, examples, and tips for completing each theory of change section, aligned with existing TASO resources such as the Mapping Outcomes and Activities Tool
- The ability to expand a Core Theory of Change into an Enhanced Theory of Change with a linked narrative, by updating Core and Enhanced Theories of Change seamlessly in tandem within the tool
- A virtual dashboard for storing, version-controlling, exporting, and importing theory of change projects
- Examples of real Core and Enhanced Theories of Change from the higher education sector accessible within the tool
- A single platform to create and export theory of change diagrams and documents, replacing the need for multiple third-party tools
- The ability to export colour-customisable theory of change diagrams (as a Powerpoint) and an Enhanced Theory of Change narrative document (as a Word document), ready for onward sharing.
Tool development
The development of the Theory of Change Builder began in summer 2024 and was completed in summer 2025. Following an open invitation to tender, TASO worked with Tom Evans, a freelance creative technologist, to develop the tool. The Theory of Change Builder was developed in five stages:
- Discover and define: Establishing the core functions and requirements of the tool. A small group of practitioners and evaluators from several higher education providers were consulted to ensure the plans for the tool aligned with their needs and approaches to theory of change development.
- Design: Creating visual designs for the tool, aligning with TASO’s branding and accessibility requirements.
- Development and build: Building the tool, including iterative rounds of testing and review with TASO, and the drafting of the written guidance and examples included in the tool.
- User testing and quality assurance: Testing the Theory of Change Builder with a small group of practitioners and evaluators in the higher education sector, who created theories of change using the tool and provided feedback.