The policy spectrum: A framework for understanding and evaluating policy and advocacy initiatives

Foundations, government agencies, and nonprofits recognize that public and organizational policy change is a pathway to sustainable improvements in community health. However, it can be challenging to evaluate the impact of broad, complex policy initiatives. To help understand and untangle the dynamic and fluid aspects of policy and advocacy evaluations, CCHE has developed the policy spectrum, a tool that evaluators and funders can use to inform their investments and assess progress across multiple sites and myriad aspects of complex initiatives.

CCHE’s policy spectrum:

• Provides a common language for the cycle of policy activity—instead of focusing only on a policy “win”
• Underscores that progress isn’t always sequential movement—it may mean looping to previous steps 
• Conveys the effectiveness and impact of complex policy initiatives within generally short evaluation timeframes, particularly when local context varies dramatically
• Helps stakeholders understand if and how policy initiatives are making a difference, even when there is no immediate policy change
• Balances the needs for rigor and timeliness so the evaluation remains relevant and useful for real time improvement while still capturing the longer-term impact of policy changes

Learn more about the policy spectrum framework and how we've used it to support policy and advocacy initiatives.