DoView Planning
Why use DoView Planning?
[We are currently setting up a new website dedicated to providing resources on how to do DoView Planning. In the meantime here is some information on ii].
DoView Planning can speed up your planning and implementation work by at least 40% and results in more integrated, tightly aligned and transparent planning and implementation. It integrates multiple aspects of planning, strategy, outcomes, prioritization, alignment, monitoring, performance measurement, accountability, evaluation and implementation of any policy, program, strategy, organization or initiative in any sector. It can be used within traditional planning, implementation and evaluation work. But it’s equally valuable for more inclusive, recently developed approaches such as collective impact, co-design, co-development, community-led, action research, indigenous post-colonial strategy, and strategic, developmental and empowerment evaluation. In addition to its use in government, it can also add value to planning and implementation work undertaken by nonprofits, community organizations, collaborations, coalitions, joint ventures and research organizations. Private sector companies can also use it for faster, more efficient work in non-financial results measurement, integrated and triple bottom line reporting, environmental, social and governance ESG reporting, and enterprise portfolio management.
What is its conceptual innovation?
At the conceptual level, DoView Planning has been built from the bottom up to be consistent with the principles of 'outcomes theory'. Outcomes theory is a new theory of planning, implementation, measurement, accountability and evaluation in any type of organization or initiative. It provides a robust conceptual framework for DoView Planning and ensures that the approach is internally consistent. Many planning systems are difficult to use because of conceptual inconsistencies. These arise when such systems do not start from a sound theoretical foundation to ensure internal consistency. Problems typically arise for such planning systems when they run up against real-world planning difficulties that planning throws up. These are things such as hard-to-measure outcomes, difficulty attributing outcomes to specific initiatives and determining who to hold to account for exactly what. Outcomes theory plays a similar role in relation to outcomes work as accounting theory plays in the case of accounting work.
What’s its practical innovation?
DoView Planning’s practical innovation lies in its extensive use of a very specific type of visual strategy diagram (outcomes diagram, intervention logic, theory of change) called a DoView that it utilises in multiple stages of the planning and implementation process. It takes to its logic conclusion the increasing trend toward using visual representations of outcomes and strategy in all types of planning. DoViews used within DoView Planning are a standardized form of visual diagram that can be used in all stages of the planning process. When implementing it a DoView Booklet is developed for any organisation, program, policy, strategy or initiative. It contains one or more DoView diagrams for the organization. These set out all of the steps that it's believed are needed to lead to their achievement. It is a much more transparent and analytically powerful way of doing planning work than just using traditional text-based or text-and-table based planning documents. The approach has been used in hundreds of instances with organisations and initiatives from many sectors.
DoView Planning can be implemented in a range of different types of apps and platforms including PowerPoint and Google Slides. Once the DoView diagram has been produced it is used in various ways in DoView Planning. For instance, it can be traffic lighted to show the extent to which the boxes in the diagram are currently being achieved. Boxes can be marked-up with their priority for focusing on in the next period. Indicators and KPIs can be put next to the boxes they measure for performance measurement as can evaluation questions being answered. The DoView can also be used to check that there is alignment between boxes in the DoView and the projects/activities that are being used to achieve them. Lastly it can be used for reporting back information on how an initiative is tracking directly against the boxes that need to be achieved if the initiative is to be a success.