Ban the Brain ^TM

Capture community project's strategy faster

Multi-layered visual strategy models


Visual strategy diagrams (logic models, intervention logics, theories of change) are powerful community development tools. But often they are off-putting because they appear too technical for community members.

DoView Multi-Layered Visual Strategy Diagrams are a very accessible type of model that has been specifically designed for easier communication with community workers, stakeholders and the public.

See an article on how these models differ from traditonal models

Software to make outcomes work easier

DoView Strategy and Outcomes Software


I am the Founder of award-winning DoView Strategy and Outcomes Software that is used in 55+ countries for building visual strategy diagrams (intervention logics or theories of change). It helps extract the mental models people have of strategy so that they can have a shared visual model of what they want.

In a community setting, DoView is used in facilitated workshops to clarify outcomes, work out how to measure them, communicate them to funders and share good practice strategy templates across communities.

See more about DoView software

See an independent evaluation of community mental health organizations using DoView

Share strategy between community projects

DoView Visual Community Strategy Template Collection


The DoView Visual Community Strategy Template Collection is a set of strategy templates I use in my work with community and nonprofit projects. Using these templates means that projects can get up and running faster.

Instead of just starting with a blank piece of paper, we can start with a relevant strategy template and then simply amended it in any way that is needed to capture a particular community project.

See some examples of DoView Strategy Templates

Check you've thought of all community strategies

Community Strategies Planning Matrix


The Community Strategies Planning Matrix is a comprehensive list of possible community intervention strategies. These strategies include: informational, community mobilization, monitoring and regulatory enforcement, institutional development and policy, rules and standards development.

The matrix is used by community projects to make sure that planners have considered all of the possible strategies that could be used for their project.

See the Community Stratgies Planning Matrix

Easier reporting on community projects

Community Projects Indicators Framework (CPIF)


Reporting on community projects should not be excessively demanding. Together with academic colleagues I developed the CPIF for a national Ministry of Health. It is designed as a feasible way for commmunity projects to report on their work. It can be used for both community action and community development.

It provides a way for community projects to report on their activities (outputs) while also making realistic comments about whether their project has actually influenced their higher-level outcomes.

See the Community Projects Indicators Framework

Collaborative planning across multiple projects

Community Group Action Planning


Community Group Action Planning is a community action method used when a group of communities are working on a similar issue, each within their own community. One representative from each community is brought together for regular meetings over a number of years (with virtual networking in between) to work collaboratively on the task.

There may also be input from a central sponsoring or funding agency, researchers providing information on evidence-informed practice, and community implementation evaluators working using implementation evaluation techniques to improve implementation.

See more information on Community Group Action Planning

Discussing disputed community issues

Rich Dialog Process for disputed community issues


Sometimes, due to divergent views, normal community consultation just increases polarization. The Rich Dialogue Process is a process which takes groups with potential, or actual, different perspectives through a structured process.

First a group of stakeholders or community participants with one view, perspective or interest meet together. They discuss the issue and develop a set of questions for a second group that holds divergent views or interests. The second group then meets. They discuss the issue, consider the questions they have been sent and formulate a response. This is followed by an all-up meeting where the two groups come together in a facilitated process to discuss the topic in a context where they have already had the opportunity to reflect on each other's perspectives.

Making community outcomes work clearer

Outcomes Theory clarifying community outcomes work


I have been involved in developing outcomes theory. I is a new theory that helps sort out the current confusion about defining outcomes, accountability, attribution and impact when undertaking community projects. Outcomes theory identifies principles, provides frameworks and conceptual and practical tools to make outcomes work much easier, whether that be in the community or in other areas.

Short Wikipedia summary of outcomes theory

See Three Minute Outcomes for digestable insights into dealing with outcomes, measurement, impact and accountability

See more detailed information on outcomes theory

Which community projects to evaluate

Strategic Evaluation approach


Traditionally, evaluation has been developed and planned in relationship to one particular project or program. I developed the area of Strategic Evaluation to turn this idea on its head. With Strategic Evaluation you work out what are the key priority research and evaluation questions for a whole community or sector.

Once you have identified these questions you then look around for suitable projects or programs as locations for answering them. This approach views evaluation spending as no longer as a number of separate 'buckets' of funding exclusively related to individual projects or programs. Stategic Evaluation looks on evaluation funding as one big Research and Development (R&D) fund from which funding is allocated in order to answer priority strategic questions for a whole community or sector.

Dealing with multiple funder outcome sets

An approach allowing you to map your activities onto more than one outcome set


A time consuming administrative problem can arise for community organizations or projects when they have to relate their activity to multiple outcomes sets from different funders and/or stakeholders. In the past this has created a dilemma as to which outcomes set an organization or project should structure its planning around. This is particularly difficult if different funders come and go for an organization or project. This problem is solved by using a visual planning approach where you can map an organization's or projects activities onto as many different outcomes sets as you need to. This is done within the DoView Strategy Diagram planning, strategy and implementation methodology I developed.