Enthusiasm for systems change is not new, and a broader historical perspective will help systems change enthusiasts learn from the past what NOT to do: replicate the ineffective mindsets and engineering approaches that have defined so much of the systems change work in our sectors.
System work is not about solutions; it’s about discovering and steering local pathways for change at a pace appropriate for our ability to learn and for what local communities can enact and absorb. A feature story from the Winter 2020 issue.
Organizations are increasingly turning to system change to tackle big social problems. But systems are complex, and mastering the process requires observation, patience, and reflection. To begin, here are two
approaches to pursuing system change.
A project undertaken by Indian NGO Gram Vikas shows how efforts to solve a particular social problem can have a far reaching impact on an entire social system.
How organizations in the development sector can more systematically consider the implications of the environments in which they work.
Organizations often stumble when it comes to turning innovation into impact. Here’s a guide to diagnosing and preventing several “pathologies” that underlie this failure.
The challenges of scaling up programs aimed at empowering adolescent girls in Bangladesh and Uganda.
Could radical transparency in global development lead to better outcomes?
A diagnostic framework for shaping innovation and scaling strategies.
Are research and practice two coins or two sides of the same coin?
Organizations need the ability to both scale up successful innovations and create new ones, even those that challenge the status quo.
It is time to move from innovation as an ideology to innovation as a process.
