Who this is for: Change managers and anyone who edits an initiative.
The Change Canvas (previously called "Change on a Page") is a one-page view of your whole change strategy for an initiative. Use it to agree the vision, approach and success measures with your sponsor and project team, and to keep a record of what you learned.
Open the Change Canvas
- Open the initiative from the Initiatives page, or from the recent initiatives in the left menu.
- In the initiative's left menu, click Change canvas.
Fill in the canvas
- Check the Initiative Summary at the top. It fills in from the initiative's details. To change those details, choose Edit initiative in the initiative's left menu.
- Complete each field on the canvas. Default fields include:
- Vision: what is the goal of this project?
- Implementation Approach: how will it be rolled out?
- What's Changing & New Behaviors: what shift are you asking people to make?
- Change Approach & Governance: who manages the change?
- Success Measures & Readiness: what does success look like?
- Lessons Learned: what should future initiatives know?
- Come back and update the canvas as the initiative changes.
Your organisation can configure which fields appear on the canvas. During onboarding, agree what your change team wants every initiative to capture. Some teams make extra fields required for higher-effort initiatives, based on the result of the Change Effort Assessment.
Export the canvas
- Click Export at the top of the Change Canvas page.
- Choose a format:
- PDF: to share a final version.
- Word (.docx): to keep editing or collaborate.
- ChangePlan generates the file for you to download.
Tips for a useful canvas
- Work on it together. Fill it in with your sponsor, project manager and key stakeholders, ideally in a working session, and share the draft for alignment before you finalise it.
- Use it at kickoff and at reviews. Start it early to set alignment, then revisit it at governance reviews and major milestones.
- Split the fields. Ask different leads to complete the fields they own, for example the project manager for implementation approach.
- Keep it living. Update it as the initiative shifts. As completed initiatives build up, their canvases become a record of what worked and what didn't.
Common questions
Who should fill out the Change Canvas?
The initiative owner or change lead, working with sponsors and stakeholders.
Can I change it later?
Yes. Treat it as a living document and update it whenever the initiative changes.
Is the canvas used for reporting?
Yes. An exported canvas works well for executive updates and governance meetings.
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Still stuck?
Email support@changeplan.co with a screenshot of what you see, and we'll help.
Last updated: 20 October 2026