The Theory Of Change In Innovation 📐
📅 Date: 19th November 2025
🕕 Time: 2 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Location: Plus X Innovation, Brighton
🎟️ Tickets: £5 | Limited capacity (40 max)
🎧 Fundraising for: AudioActive
How do you know if the innovation you’re building is truly making a difference — and not just ticking boxes?
In a world overflowing with metrics, reports and “impact statements,” many founders, creatives and change-makers are still asking: “But how do we measure what really matters?”
Building off of Plus X Innovation and YouthTheGap’s 2025 - 2026 “Impact Series”, “The Theory of Change in Innovation” is the second event in this series, in collaboration with Found & Flourish.
Join us for a bold, interactive evening for entrepreneurs, social innovators, and creative leaders who want to move beyond surface-level indicators and develop meaningful, sustainable ways to track the difference they make.
This event invites you to explore your own “theory of change” — connecting your why, what, and how — so your impact can be measured not just in numbers, but in lived realities.
Together we will:
Explore how lived experience shapes the change we seek to make.
Learn practical tools and frameworks for measuring social, creative, and cultural impact.
Unpack how to avoid vanity metrics and focus on meaningful indicators.
Understand how to measure equity, inclusion and belonging — beyond diversity headcounts.
Discover how to communicate your impact in ways that inspire funders, partners and communities.
What to Expect
🤝 Impact Mapping Circles
Begin the night with rotating, themed discussion stations designed to spark open and honest conversation.
You’ll explore:
What “impact” means to you — and how it’s changed over time
The difference between activity, output and outcome
Who gets to decide whether change is “successful”
🎤 Panel: Measuring What Matters
A real-world conversation with founders, community leaders and innovators who are defining success differently.
We’ll talk about:
Building a theory of change that works in practice, not just on paper
Measuring impact in creative, community and social innovation spaces
Balancing funder requirements with authentic storytelling
Why measuring belonging is harder — and more important — than measuring attendance
Panelists:
Alec Chapman, POOW Media
Bobby Brown, Lighthouse Project
Michelle Hunter, AudioActive
One secret panelist to be confirmed soon 🤫
🧠 Reflection + Audience Q&A
An open space to ask questions, share reflections and challenge assumptions about what measuring impact should look like.
🌱 Impact Wall + Open Networking
Close the evening with relaxed networking, posting your takeaways on the “Impact Wall,” and exploring practical tools you can use to take your impact measurement further.
Impact without measurement is intention without evidence — and measurement without meaning is data without a heartbeat. This evening will give you:
Tools to align your innovation with your values
A deeper understanding of how to measure the unmeasurable
Community connections with people committed to building better futures
All profits go to AudioActive, a groundbreaking music charity creating social change for young people.