The Pearl Initiative, a business-led non-profit organisation promoting corporate accountability in the Gulf Region’s private sector, recently rolled out the second ‘Theory of Change’ workshop in Dubai, following the success of the first in the series held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this year.

Held as part of the Pearl Initiative’s Governance in Philanthropy programme, the workshop was held as part of its mission to promote more strategic giving in the Gulf Region leading to greater impact. The workshop convened 20 heads of corporate social responsibility departments and foundations as well as managers of philanthropic capital across the UAE’s philanthropic sector and engaged them in an interactive session detailing the process of creating a ‘Theory of Change’.

Commenting on the workshop, Yasmine Omari, Executive Director of the Pearl Initiative, said: “A ‘Theory of Change’ is an increasingly valuable tool for organisations to use to explain how their programmes and activities are able to convert inputs and resources into positive social outcomes and impact over time. The reason that a theory of change can be such a beneficial tool is because it demonstrates the link between an activity and the degree of change it has affected.”

She added: “This allows organisations to evaluate programmes by understanding how change occurs within their systems, thereby helping them achieve their long-term goals. In parallel, a theory of change can identify where programmes are perhaps not delivering, or meeting the intended goals allowing for corrective measures to be taken.”

The workshop, delivered by Reem Khouri, Co-Founder and CEO of Whyise, and Founding Partner of Kaamen, Jordan, offered participants insights into the process of developing a ‘theory of change’ for their social investment programmes for them to be more effective, ultimately helping them to make the region’s philanthropic sector more impactful.

Speaking of the workshop, Reem Khouri, expressed: “This event was built on the learnings from our Riyadh workshop. The mapping exercise helped participants develop an active process for articulating the change they want to create as they identified their short, medium and long-term goals.”

She added: “We are always leveraging tools that can support organisations to design, implement and evaluate their impact. Our goal is to enable evidence-based decision making for exponential impact.”

Founded in 2010, the Pearl Initiative is a Gulf business–led organisation promoting a corporate culture of accountability and transparency as key drivers of competitiveness and sustainable economic growth across the Gulf Region. The organisation develops programmes and publishes regional research reports and case studies to promote the implementation of higher standards of corporate governance amongst business and student communities across the Gulf Region.

The Pearl Initiative website and mobile application is frequently updated with events and registration is open to the general public. Events are designed to drive change in corporate governance practices in the Gulf Region by disseminating and sharing best practices.