USAID AusAid Irish Aid American foundations Rockefeller Foundation Ford Foundation Non-government organizations U. N. Development Program World Bank Inter-American Development Bank World Vision The Hunger Project CARE Amnesty International Canadian Feed the Children New Philanthropy Capital uses ToC as "a core component of its work" in advising charities and funding organisations, and argues that for funders, "a theory of change helps [them] to articulate the assumptions that underpin" their approach to funding. Women for Women International Oxfam Greenpeace Alliance for Financial Inclusion California Endowment Research organizations and programs CGIAR Sustainability Research Effectiveness Program ToC in Climate Organizations The Climate Center ToC in community schools (U. S.) Children's Aid Society Communities in Schools (Va.) Netter Center for Community Partnerships (Philadelphia) Cincinnati Community Learning Centers Hartford (Conn.) Community Schools Paterson (N. J.) Community Schools United Federation of Teachers (New York City) Beacon Schools (New York City) ToC in philanthropy Annie E. Casey Foundation Kellogg Foundation Lumina Foundation for Education Application in Research Planning, Adaptive Management, and Evaluation Theory of Change (ToC) is a multi-purpose tool that can be applied for the purpose of planning, managing, monitoring, and evaluating research, especially change-oriented research (e.g., research-for-development, transdisciplinary research, sustainability science). As in other applications, a research ToC describes the causal relationships between a research project or program and its intended results (i.e., outputs, outcomes, and impacts), framed as a set of testable hypotheses about how and why research contributes to change. ToC for research planning and design As an ex ante planning tool, Theory of Change can make research design and implementation more realistic and relevant by facilitating critical reflection on the role of research in a change process. It can also make research more participatory, by identifying and engaging key stakeholders of the research, and enabling co-ownership of the research process and the research results (e.g., findings). Theory of Change can accompany or be embedded within a research proposal. ToC for adaptive management of research As a monitoring tool, a Theory of Change helps identify useful indicators to assess progress and can facilitate adaptive management. It does this by stimulating learning about what strategies work in the specific research context, and where additional attention and resources need to be directed in order to achieve intended outcomes. This can inform adjustments to planned research activities, and also take advantage of unexpected opportunities by giving users a framework to determine whether an opportunity does or