Developing Theories of Change
Charting pathways from research to impact
A theory of change charts a path from scholarly insight to real-world impact — articulating what needs to happen, in what sequence, and under what conditions, to move from understanding a problem to making progress on solving it. The resources here support researchers and practitioners developing, testing, and refining that work.
What is a Theory of Change?
A theory of change is an explanation of the concrete steps and conditions that are needed to move from understanding a problem to making progress on solving that problem, and it explains how to disrupt the status quo. By contrast, a theory of the status quo is an explanation of how and why current patterns or arrangements reproduce themselves.
Developing and testing theories of change allows us to embrace both social impact and scientific impact and to produce research with the potential to improve people’s lives, while also advancing new scientific understandings of how to promote positive change. Solution focused research (also known as problem-solving or social impact research) moves from understanding social problems to making progress on solving them.
(From the 2026 American Sociological Association Presidential Address by Shelley J. Correll)
Questions for Developing Theories of Change
A theory of change begins with a clear account of the problem and a hypothesized pathway toward addressing it. Consider these questions as a starting point for moving from diagnosis to the development of testable change strategies.
- What is the larger problem my work engages?
- What is my “big dream” for this problem?
- How can we make progress on this dream?
- What is a hypothesized pathway for making progress?
Partnering for Impact
Solution-focused research rarely emerges from a single vantage point. The power of partnering with those outside the academy can be a critical element of conducting solution-focused research.
To produce positive change, we need 3 types of knowledge:
- Academic knowledge
- Practitioner knowledge
- Knowledge of the lived experience of people experiencing the problem
Each informs the others — and removing any one of them can limit what's possible. At the VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, this means that partnerships with people outside the academy aren't peripheral to the research — they are constitutive of it. In our work with GoDaddy, for example, Monica Bailey, the internal change agent, informed our team about the best way to get people on board and engage them in our research. On our end, we shared research-based insights and analyses to move their work forward. (Read more in the case study: GoDaddy and the Holy Grail: Equal Access to Top Performance Reviews)
Our goal is to learn from our partners just as they learn from us.
The Lab has partners with corporations, educators and many units on the Stanford campus. For more information about our partnerships, go to Community & Partners.
Featured Resources
Image credit: iStock syntika
Curated readings for developing and testing theories of change
Stanford Impact Labs Report Cover
Article discussing the value of academic–practitioner partnerships for translating social science research into evidence-based solutions that promote gender equity and broader social impact by Shelley J. Correll. Social Impact Lab. 2021.
Image credit: CharlieAJA / iStock
Article outlining how a Theory of Change helps researchers articulate how their work can lead to meaningful outcomes for society in addition to contributions to their academic field by Sarah Hopwood. Stanford Impact Labs. 2025.
We need to conduct more research that is solutions-focused research that develops and tests theories of change, and not just theories of the status quo.
