Using theory of change to facilitate networks achieving their goals

Background: Across the Dutch healthcare system, and internationally, workforce shortages, fragmentation, and rising care demands are driving the need for stronger regional collaboration. Sustainable, integrated care depends on well-functioning networks that align diverse stakeholders around shared outcomes.

To support this transition, Vilans, the national centre of expertise for long-term care, works with regional initiatives to strengthen their capacity for collaboration. This workshop explores how the Theory of Change (ToC) can be used as a practical and reflective framework to help regional networks clarify their purpose, align stakeholders, and evaluate progress. Participants will gain insight into how different network structures—horizontal, vertical, or condition-based—affect effectiveness, and how ToC can support learning and accountability within these collaborations.

Audience:This workshop is designed for healthcare professionals, policymakers, and managers engaged in or supporting regional collaboration and integrated care initiatives. It will also benefit researchers and facilitators interested in applying ToC in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

By bringing together participants from diverse roles, regions, and systems, the workshop fosters peer learning and cross-national exchange on how to strengthen networks for people-centred, sustainable care.

Approach: The 90-minute session combines short presentations with intensive group work, ensuring a highly interactive experience where participants apply learning directly to practice.

- Introduction (10 min): Overview of the Dutch context and different types of healthcare networks (horizontal, vertical, and condition-based). Discussion of how structure influences effectiveness and integration.

- Practice-Based Theory of Change (20 min): Presentation on applying ToC to collaborative networks—how it helps partners define shared outcomes, identify necessary conditions for success, and evaluate collective impact.

- Interactive Think Tank (50 min): Participants work in mixed groups on real-world or provided case studies. Each group uses ToC to map how a regional network can achieve its intended outcomes, identifying barriers, enablers, and stakeholder roles. Facilitators guide reflection to ensure relevance across systems and encourage inclusion of different professional and patient perspectives.

- Synthesis and Takeaways (10 min): Groups share insights and recommendations for further research and development of methodologies supporting effective network collaboration.

Outcomes: By the end of the workshop, participants will:

- Understand how network structures influence effectiveness in achieving integrated care goals.

- Be able to apply the Theory of Change to analyze and strengthen regional collaborations.

- Identify key success factors, lessons learned, and areas for further innovation in supporting networks.

- Gain practical insights transferable across national and organizational contexts, promoting inclusion, shared learning, and more integrated systems of care.

This session empowers participants to bridge theory and practice, translating the Theory of Change into a strategic, evidence-informed tool for advancing integrated care and sustainable regional collaboration.