Draw the Accountability Ceiling

Theory of Change asks a nonprofit to make its causal logic explicit: activities lead to outputs, outputs create early outcomes, early outcomes contribute to longer-term impact, and assumptions connect each step. The accountability ceiling is the line between outcomes you can reasonably own and outcomes you can only influence with others. In practice, this line prevents inflated grant language, protects staff from impossible targets, and gives boards a clearer way to govern impact. Use the ceiling in three passes. First, list the concrete activity and output you control. Second, name the behavior, knowledge, access, or condition that should change for…

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