Summary

PolicyWise worked with the Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre to revise their theory of change to help them achieve their vision. One of eight Child and Youth Advocacy Centres in Alberta, Luna aims to support and enhance the well-being of children and youth who’ve experienced sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, or maltreatment.

Luna’s vision is that children and youth who have experienced abuse are healthy and thriving and we live in communities where all children are safe. Luna’s Theory of Change describes how this ultimate impact can be achieved by mapping their activities in relation to four outcome domains: integrated and trauma-informed service delivery, internal capacity building and resilience, system capacity building, and prevention.

PolicyWise worked with Luna to develop a corresponding Evaluation Framework so they can understand their impact, strengths, and opportunities for improvement. It outlines measures for healing and well-being for each of the four outcome domains, and includes example indicators.

Practice & Policy Implications

• Using a tailored evaluation framework, for outcomes such as well-being, can help organizations understand their impact, strengths, and opportunities for improvement.
   
• Evaluation tools can also help organizations to identify areas of service overlap and potential collaboration.