Reviewed: May 2025

Evaluation is a key part of the research funding lifecycle, helping shape the direction of future funding, and reflecting on the impact to date.  It can help to break down the process of generating impact using the Theory of Change model:

Theory of Change is a logic model that sets out changes an organisation or project expects to make (the outcomes) and explains how they intend to make them (activities). Presented as a diagram or flowchart, it lays out a framework for how an organisation can achieve the aims of their research strategy, including the inputs and outputs involved along the way.

A simplified version of a theory of change model can be seen below:

Developing a Theory of Change allows an organisation to describe the need they are trying to address, the changes they want to make (outcomes) and how they plan to achieve these changes (activities). It allows them to answer key questions around their research aim:

• Is it the right aim?
• Is it achievable?
• Is it likely to create the impact we’re planning for?

When making a Theory of Change, an organisation should consider the stakeholders involved including researchers, patients, families, industry, and the NHS. You should also take into account the timelines, i.e. how long it will take to generate research outputs/outcomes and establish a plan for tracking and monitoring these and long-term impacts over time. See the following example from MQ Mental Health Research of how they apply the Theory of Change model: MQ Mental Health Research 10-year impact report.

Other guidance in this section includes:

• Classifying research impact

• Methods for capturing research impact

• Types of impact evaluation

• Challenges to measuring impact

• Communicating research impact

• Research impact

You can explore the different ways to share research impact by visiting our Research Impact Resource Hub.