Labs Guide

What Are the ImpactMojo Labs?

ImpactMojo offers 10 interactive labs — hands-on workbenches where you build, design, and practice real development skills. Unlike courses (which teach concepts) or games (which simulate dynamics), labs produce tangible outputs — a Theory of Change diagram, a MEL plan, a policy brief — that you can export and use in your actual work.

All labs are free, browser-based, and require no login.

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The 10 Labs

MEL & Research Labs

Lab	What You Build	Link
Theory of Change Lab	A structured ToC with assumptions, indicators, and causal pathways	Open
MLE Design Lab	A monitoring, learning, and evaluation framework for your programme	Open
MEL Plan Lab	A complete MEL plan with data collection schedule, tools, and responsibilities	Open
Design Thinking Lab	A human-centred design process from empathy mapping to prototyping	Open
Community Development Lab	A participatory community assessment and action plan	Open
Risk and Mitigation Lab	A risk register with likelihood, impact, and mitigation strategies	Open
Resource and Sustainability Lab	A resource mobilisation and sustainability plan	Open
Impact and Partnerships Lab	A partnership mapping and impact measurement framework	Open

Communication & Governance Labs

Lab	What You Build	Link
Storytelling Lab	A structured impact story with narrative arc and evidence integration	Open
Policy & Advocacy Lab	A policy brief and advocacy strategy with stakeholder mapping	Open

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How Labs Work

Each lab follows a structured, step-by-step process:

1. Context setting — you describe your programme, target group, and objectives

2. Guided building — the lab walks you through each component with prompts and examples

3. Output generation — your work is assembled into a formatted, exportable document

4. Export — download as PDF or PNG for use in proposals, reports, and presentations

Labs are designed to be completed in 30–60 minutes, though you can save progress and return later.

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How Educators Can Use the Labs

As Workshop Exercises

Labs are ready-made workshop activities. Participants work through a lab using their own programme as the case study, producing an output they can actually use.

Example: Theory of Change Workshop (2 hours)

1. Brief intro to ToC concepts (20 minutes)

2. Participants open the Theory of Change Lab (5 minutes)

3. Guided building — facilitator walks the room while participants work (60 minutes)

4. Pairs share and critique each other's ToCs (20 minutes)

5. Plenary discussion on common challenges (15 minutes)

As Course Assignments

Assign a lab as a graded deliverable. The exported output serves as the submission — it's a real work product, not an exam answer.

Good assignment pairings:

• MEL course → MEL Plan Lab

• Policy course → Policy & Advocacy Lab

• Programme design course → Theory of Change Lab + Risk and Mitigation Lab

As Team Planning Tools

Use labs during actual programme planning meetings. The structured prompts help teams think through components they might otherwise skip.

For Portfolio Building

Participants can collect lab outputs across multiple sessions to build a professional portfolio showing their ability to design ToCs, MEL frameworks, risk registers, and policy briefs.

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Getting Started

1. Start with the Theory of Change Lab — it's the most widely applicable and gives you a feel for how labs work

2. Use your own programme as the case study — the output will be immediately useful

3. Export your work — every lab produces a downloadable PDF or PNG

4. Try 2–3 labs to see how they build on each other (e.g., ToC → MEL Design → MEL Plan is a natural progression)

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Tips

• Labs produce real outputs. Unlike simulations, what you build in a lab is something you can include in a proposal or report. Treat it as real work, not practice.

• Facilitators should complete each lab first. Know what the prompts ask and where participants might get stuck before running a workshop.

• Pair labs with courses. The MEL course teaches concepts; the MEL Plan Lab applies them. Using both together reinforces learning.

• Group work is effective. Have 2–3 participants collaborate on one lab output — the discussion about what to include is as valuable as the output itself.