Choosing your theory of change model

Three theory-of-change models drive most town hall organizing: direct pressure, public accountability, and narrative shift. Pick one consciously.

There are three theory-of-change models that produce most county town halls. They are not exclusive — a single event can lean on two — but you should know which one is primary, because the design changes.

Direct pressure is the model where the town hall exists to extract a specific commitment from a specific decision-maker in the room. The event design is structured around getting that official to say yes to a defined ask. Run-of-show is tight. The ask is rehearsed. The room is packed with constituents who can identify themselves by district.

Public accountability is the model where the decision-maker may or may not attend, but the event creates a public record — through a scorecard, testimony, or a documented vote — that will be cited in future campaigns. The event design prioritizes documentation: video, written testimony, signed cards. The Legislator Accountability Scorecard you will download in Module 4 is the artifact of this model.

Narrative shift is the model where the audience is not the decision-maker but the broader public, the press, or unaffiliated neighbors. The event design prioritizes story, framing, and shareable moments. The metric of success is not commitments — it is downstream coverage and the number of new community members who self-identify as affected.

Datos Lab's post-Callais Georgia work uses public accountability as the primary model in 70 percent of county town halls, with narrative shift as a secondary model in rural counties where the press is the harder problem than the decision-maker.