What skills, methods and tools will we need to navigate the choppy waters we are in and bring about transformative social change?

Opening Circle we_b Brussels 14 January 2012

I have just spent 3 days in discussion with 22 people from 7 countries in a “we_b” laboratory held in Brussels under the umbrella of a new collaborative group we are calling Collective Impact x Innovation Institute (Ci2i).  Some of the concepts that we explored in this initial “we_x” lab included:

1.  Thrivability – Using a whole systems approach, we evolve our way of being together, of collaborating, so that our collective wisdom and action bring forth a flourishing world and thriving life. This session focused on the action spectrum, a framework for creating portfolios of action (and expectations for results) within simple, complex, and complex adaptive environments.

2. Risk Assessment – How can social investment be integrated in risk management approaches, as a new way for business and social organizations to partner based on shared values?   This requires developing new impact assessment metrics and experimenting with innovative partnerships.

3. Scaling for Impact – How do we replicate methods that we know work so that they have a positive  impact on larger groups of people?  We need to approach the concept of ‘scaling’ in new ways so that we can better test our theories and share our knowledge in ways appropriate to the social sector and the goal of making significant positive impact.

4. Knowledge Management and Sharing – There is more and more information that is available, but how do we make it accessible to those who can benefit from it, and make meaning of it so that it enables us to take effective action?

5. Self-Awareness – We all have ‘filters’ that we use when we meet new people and enter new partnerships that lead us to make certain judgments (both positive and negative).  Being aware of our own perceptions can help strengthen working relationships and partnerships.

Colleague Christelle Van Ham has also blogged about our discussions here and  Carolina Tocalli has blogged (in Spanish) about we_b here.  You can see more pictures and some of our charts here.  Stay tuned for more from Ci2i coming soon!

The beginning of January is a time for reflections and can be a chance for new beginnings:  personally, professionally and as world citizens.  As this “New Year’s Time” piece notes the first of January is one day that is widely shared globally and brings us all together in a common observance  to ‘make of it whatever we choose to’.

The new year gives us a chance to balance continuity and change (what’s working, and what do we need to do differently?); and vision with reality and pragmatism (how many resolutions should I really strive for this year?).

It also provides us with a lot of new ideas and reading materials to plunge our thinking in new directions and re-engage with each other.  Here are several pieces that caught my attention:

•  The Guardian: What issues will shape global development?
•  Center for Global Development: What’s Hot and What’s Not 2012
•  How Matters: Top 12 people, trends, sites, and organizations to watch in 2012
• Chronicle of Philanthropy: 2012 Resolutions for the Nonprofit World
• Thrivable:  Prediction for 2012
•  NextBillion: The Power of Collective Action“
•  Philanthrocapitalism: “The Year of Giving Politically“
•  Ecopreneurist: 8 Trends That Will Impact Social Entrepreneurs in 2012

What caught yours?

Here’s to new beginnings (or re-commitments), with new (or renewed) energy to take us forward into a new year!

The blog I wrote quickly in October of 2010 “What Makes Someone Inspirational?” has turned out to be my most ‘searched for’ and read blog post.  I am also an avid reader and greatly benefit from the suggestions of others, so my end-of-the-year blog this year is sharing some of my and my colleagues favorite inspirational reads that we have read this past year.

Non-fiction

• Mine: “Boiling Point: Can citizen action save the world?” By Kumi Naidoo   Kumi with extensive experience in civil society and citizen action on the national and global levels, reflects on his experiences with a ‘call to action’. A special blend of a trained analytical mind with an activist’s passion for significant social change. [Note: As this is the only book listed not available through ‘standard’ online booksellers I have included a link.]

• From Lucia Nass @LuciaMHNass: “The art of happiness” by the Dalai Lama – love how your own mindset influences what you see and what comes to you; and “Connected” by Christakis & Fowler: How social networks shape our lives, and similar findings about a happy mindset!

•  From Tom Murphy @viewfromthecave: “Fighting for Darfur” by Rebecca Hamilton. It shows how a critical look at advocacy can come from a place of support.

•  From Hildy Gottlieb @Hildy Gottlieb: “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simon Sinek – the importance of the “what & how” coming only after “the why”.

• From Pritha RaySircar @pritharaysircar: I read “Teachings on Love” and “Anger:Wisdom for Cooling the Flames” by Thich Nhat Hanh each year.

• From Penelope Carter @penelopeinparis: “The House on Sugar Beach”  – memoirs of Helene Cooper’s privileged childhood in Liberia

• Akhila @akhilak shares: I am reading “Haiti after the earthquake” by Paul Farmer. He is definitely a huge, huge inspiration.  Also “The gifts of imperfection” by Brene Brown and the memoir “Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny” by Zainab Salbi

• From Jean Russell @nurturegirl “Click: The Magic of Instant Connections” by Ori and Rom Brafman; “The Power of Pull” by John Hagel and the “Age of the Unthinkable” by Joshua Cooper Ramos

Fiction

• Mine: “Sweetness in the Belly” by Camilla Gibb – a young orphaned woman survives and thrives in a multitude of cultures through her sensitivity to those around her.

• From Kalsoom Lakhani @kalsoom82 “The Solitude of Prime Numbers”

• From Pritha RaySircar @pritharaysircar “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino

• From Penelope Carter @penelopeinparis “Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood:  “What happens when a society takes ideology too far – women are both revered and diminished.  A first person, diary-style account it makes the reader think long and hard about some of the ideologies surrounding feminism, and the objectification of women.”  Also  “Half of a Yellow Sun”  by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie— “absolutely beautiful story of love, resilience and the power of conviction.”

• From Jean Russell @nurturegirl “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse

Happy reading! (and please do add your favorite inspirational reads from the past year!).

[Note: I was asked by the creative folks behind whydev.org in Australia to draft a guest post that would reflect some on changes that I have seen in the international arena over the past few decades.  This is that post which can also be found on whydev.org The title came from our brainstorming about how the past intersects with the future...]

I initially started working internationally in the early 1980’s (yes, I know that seems a long time ago!). I have worked for numerous big and small organizations involved in various aspects of ‘engaging internationally’ to try and make the world a better place.  In the past few decades there have been many changes in the international environment. Here are some of my observations on those changes:

1)       “Capacity building” around the world – Many Western governments and agencies have conducted various types of ‘management training’ in the past 10-15 years that has helped to nurture independent and innovative local efforts.  Western or donor country organizations that may have struggled in the past to find local partners (or assumed that there weren’t any) now find it easier to find them.  This transition is still unfolding – and the development of true partnerships is a work in progress – but as an international community we are moving in a positive direction.

2)      The ‘rise of the Internet” has allowed for communication across traditional organizational lines  – This can be beneficial – it allows communication to happen between parties that in the past could not communicate directly.  But it can also be challenging – there can be so much communication and data that finding what is relevant can be frustrating and time consuming and coordination can be hard. We now have a lot of ‘data’ flowing in many different directions but as this information flow can sometimes seem like a flood and it makes the need for knowledge management and the role of ‘curators’ even more important.

3)      Social media forums don’t have the ‘seniority’ that real life and organizations do –  On social media platforms the ‘voices of experience’ combine with the ‘voices of enthusiasm’ in a way that does not happen as easily offline.  This allows for some amazing opportunities for synergy and lot of opportunity for cross-generational learning.  A great cartoon re: the need the older generation has to not lose the wonderful creativity of youth!

4)      Labels don’t mean as much –  We used to be a lot more concerned with somewhat rigid sectors – are you working in the private (corporate) sector, government, NGOs, etc.. Today the sectors are more porous, and concepts such as social entrepreneurship have become more common.  There is more of a focus on impact.  I wrote more about this here: Impact without Boundaries

5)      Skills needed – There is a growing set of skills that are needed to be successful in working internationally.  Although basics like communication and organizational skills are on-going ‘staples’, skills like cultural competency, the ability to be a good listener and “filtering skills” (see #2 above re: the increasing flow of information) are increasingly important.  Michael Keizer wrote a good blog about some of these skills “Eleven helpful skills and traits for aid and health logisticians.”

I would be very interested in also hearing what other “veteran practitioners” may have observed.

“Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”  ~Pablo Picasso

It almost feels a bit clichéd to write “the world is becoming more global”,  but virtually and in person we are interacting on a daily basis with more cultures and perspectives.  We can do this reactively, or we can prepare ourselves more proactively and be open to opportunities that can help affect positive social change.  Some of us have the benefit of having had experiences that stretch us, or a personality that likes challenges.  Others of us are more risk adverse or like our comfort zones, even when we don’t admit it.  But we can all use some helpful prompts and reminders to reach outside of our comfort zones.  Here are a few ideas:

• Blog to learn: If you’re a blogger, write a blog about something you want to learn about – the blog will give you an excuse for some research, outreach and learning. (I included some information on the ‘complexity’ field in a recent blog, partly to learn more about it myself).
• Learn a few phrases from another language – If you don’t already speak other languages, think about learning at least a few phrases from a culture that interests you.  You don’t have to become fluent (a significant project) but learn enough to begin to appreciate the unique aspects of some of the phrasing, or what it can mean to struggle to express yourself.
• Read some fiction based in other countries. Here are two lists with good suggestions:  Top 10 African memoirs  and an assortment of favorites gathered by Penelope Carter and friends (many set in places around the world).
• Follow in new directions: If you’re on Twitter, spend some time identifying people who look interesting to you but in a different field or area whose path you might never come across  without your outreach.  There are other social media platforms as well, but Twitter (where you can follow anyone without mutual acceptance) is a good way to approach people you do not yet know.

The options are really unlimited, the key is to consciously think about how to challenge yourself.  What’s on your list?

Earlier this year I wrote about ‘awareness raising campaigns‘. Although the 7 Billionth Person mark is not an awareness raising campaign per se, it has many of the same characteristics.  It has been interesting to watch the progression of public attention.  It started a few weeks back when the United Nation Population Fund (UNFP) released its 2011 State of the World’s Population report predicting 7 billion people by 31 October.  Next came a run of ‘fun’ stories such as National Geographic’s “World’s Most Typical person” and online  interactive activities including the BBC’s “What’s your Number?”  Then on “the day” itself a plethora of articles and blogs some of which were collected on the Good Intentions blog.

There are a lot of important issues here, not the least of which are: what are the implications of population growth? Is it population growth per se we should be worried about or consumption and distribution (of basic goods and services) patterns?  Who should be making decisions about population control?  What roles do governments, NGOs, and individuals play?  But after all of the attention subsides and the public’s attention moves on to the next issue, where does that leave us?  Hopefully in a place where we have all learned something that will move us to some type of action.  For policy makers and thought leaders that may be looking at questions in different ways.  For individual actors, hopefully with a heightened commitment to (and perhaps some new ideas for) making the world our new arrivals come into a better place.  Some good ideas can be found from the UNFP’s 7 Billion Actions campaign & from the UN Foundation.

So welcome Danica or Nargis or Moussa or Sofia or Daniel or Chloé or Cheng and so many others around the world.  We’re glad you are here and we hope we can make this world a better place for you.

We live in an increasingly complex world, but to implement effective solutions, especially on any type of large scale, we need to have relatively simple approaches that a wide range of people can follow.  So much of what we do as practitioners is to translate complex ideas and solutions into simple (without being condescending or simplistic) approaches that others can follow.  I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the gap that all too often exists between those who have time to think about complexity and those that don’t but need to manage it.

Let’s say that as a busy practitioner I actually have time to read an article or book or hear a presentation that presents some in-depth ideas that provoke my thinking. After I’ve read the book or heard the presentation, I may spend some time on and off over the coming weeks thinking about how it might practically apply to my work.  I may bounce ideas off a colleague or two to better articulate my own thinking.  If I am lucky, I may have the opportunity to pursue these ideas with others in my organization in a more structured way. Perhaps we will even develop a pilot project to test out some of these ideas, eventually finding an approach that will fit the organization and help it address the global challenges it aims to resolve.

This can be a relatively long and involved process that takes time and commitment.  And it is often harder than it needs to be as we often do this kind of transitional thinking in short, ‘stolen’ bursts of time, or as individuals in isolation.  What are some of the approaches that can help guide us to better integrate complexity resources in to our day to day challenges and decision-making? Here are some ideas:

1. Encourage your organization to be a learning organization:  There is a lot of useful thinking ‘out there’ that can be extremely helpful to us as practitioners when our organizations value and allow time for reflection.  For example, Donald Schon in “Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action”  talks about “Reflection-in-action”,  an improvisational decision-making approach that professionals can bring to their everyday practices, as they operate under conditions of complexity, uncertainty, uniqueness, and value conflict.   David Snowden has a Cynefin Framework, a similar approach that looks at how we Sense-Analyze-Respond. We take in new data (sense), then we can consider its implications (analyze), and try a new approach or pilot (respond).  Ian Thorpe on his excellent blog, KM (Knowledge management) on a Dollar a Day reflects periodically on what it means to be a learning organization, including this post “Too Much Learning by Doing?”

2. Look for general approaches:  Owen Barder of the Center for Global Development cautions against breaking complex steps into ‘how-to’s that are prescriptive and can be too simplistic.  He suggests that “If we are going to draw lessons, they should not be on how to get things done, but on what kinds of behavior or approach are needed.”  He suggests three of these: a)  Do things which encourage diversity and innovation;b)  Design ways to ‘fail safely’so that you can learn; c)  Have effective feedback loops – find ways to ensure that what you have learned feeds back quickly into your next decision.”

General approaches or core values can help maintain consistency among a large number of stakeholders who may be implementing a program while allowing for necessary local variation and the improvisation that Donald Schon and others describe.

The staffer of an international NGO involved in international development work (who blogs anonymously) moves in a similar direction in a blog post last year using Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Framwork: “Embracing the Chaotic: Cynefin and Humanitarian Response”. He outlines the following approaches: a) Trust. Organizations need to have trust in their personnel, and have confidence that given the responsibility, they will make good decisions in the heat of the moment; b) Processes (and people) need to be motivated not by procedure but by principle; and c) Systems themselves need to become quick, adaptable and light.

3.  Meet people where they are at:  This is one way that practitioners who are able to make time to reflect can help others they work with to translate complexity to manageable action. Deidre Schmidt, former Executive Director of the Affordable Housing Institute describes having discussions with different staff members based on their own learning styles – are they big picture or detail people?  Can graphs and pictures help?  She also notes the importance of the ‘translator’ role when groups have a range of different expertise.  For example, not everyone necessarily needs to understand the details of technical issues as long as they have confidence in other group members to handle them.

4. Create informal learning communities in or outside of our organizations:  If you do not yet work in an organization that values the time it takes for learning, you can seek out those who do share your need to allocate time periodically for reflection that translates to actionable steps and create informal learning communities.  These peers can help us to carve out time for learning and reflection.  We can share and brainstorm our ideas together and serve as each other’s reminders to make this time on a regular basis.

Together as a community that is focused on providing tools to those who are engaging in significant social change, we need to work on ways to break down silos, and the lingo that often prevents information from being shared between different sectors.  How we can create more opportunities for collective learning and sharing across silos, especially between academics and practitioners? Encourage more organizations to allocate time to be ‘learning organizations’?

This is a much bigger (and ‘complex’) topic than can be addressed in one blog post.  I hope that this is a helpful contribution to what will be an on-going and broad based conversation.

Additional reading

• A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making by David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, Harvard Business Review, 2007
• “Systems, Complexity and Staff Realities”
• Taking Responsibility for Complexity
• An Approach to Evaluating Complexity
• Development impact calls for knowledgeable development practitioners
• Learning Organizations, then and Now 
• Aid on the Edge of Chaos

One of the themes that came out of last week’s discussions around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the need for more effective cross-sector partnerships.  Although there are specific examples, they can be hard to come by.  Perhaps at some point I will curate a more extensive reading list around this topic, but for now, here are some articles I have recently come across.  Please do suggest others!

• Collective Impact by John Kania and Mark Kramer, Stanford Social Innovation Review
• PepsiCo to Foster Chickpeas in Ethiopia by Stephanie Strom, New York Times.
• A conversation with John Tedstrom of the Global Business Coalition on HIV-AIDs, TB and Malaria
• Trade vis a vis Corporate Responsibility by Tate Watkins, Reason.com

J. from Tales from the Hood is kicking off this week a “Aid Blog Forum” introducing different topics on a periodic basis.  The initial topic is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and you can read the intro blog here.  I am certainly no expert on CSR but I am happy to participate in the inaugural forum week and share some of my experiences and observations.

There are different reasons for and ways for corporate entities ‘to do’ CSR.  These reasons can include:

1. To improve the corporate bottom line;
2. To improve the corporation’s image or brand;
3. Because the partners, shareholders or management have a mission to do so.

Different ways to engage in CSR may include:

1. Give money or sponsor an event (the more ‘traditional’ way of CSR);
2. Sell ‘socially responsible’ products;
3. Develop employee policies, or guidelines for local activity, that have an emphasis on social responsibility.
4. Work with external partners who have a more direct social mission.

Here are some examples I have observed of how these different approaches can play out across the spectrum:

• Coca-cola – Has incorporated social responsibility language into many of its strategic documents and has worked with partners such as Oxfam. Here is a story evaluating some of the results.  Coca-cola may try to make a corporate commitment to CSR, and some good results may come from it, but ultimately its corporate bottom line is going to be most important.
• Starbucks – on just about everyone’s lists of good corporate responsibility programs for its commitment to fair trade sourcing and employee policies.  As part of Starbucks ‘brand’ is an experience they sell, beyond just a product, being socially responsible could potentially be a factor in how it sees its bottom line and thus help it to go further in developing and carrying out CSR policies.
• Laerdal – Laerdal Medical is a manufacturer of CPR equipment and simulators used in training medical personnel.  Laerdal has worked hard at being a good partner, and currently works with an alliance of international development partners towards the goal of significantly reducing infant, child and maternal mortality.  Its role in the alliance is to develop new products that are culturally appropriate, highly affordable, and simple and durable in use, in close consultation with the partners who work directly with the practitioners using the equipment.  Smaller companies (such as Laerdal) may have the best opportunity to embed a culture of corporate social responsibility across the whole corporation.

We get cynical about CSR when all CSR is ‘lumped together’ and motives and expectations are not clearly articulated.  Like in so many other areas of international development, clarifying motives, expectations and roles (if the CSR involves direct local action) can do a lot to alleviate some of this cynicism and lead to more effective results.  If we realize that there are limits to how far a corporation can or will go, we can keep our expectations realistic.  A minimum standard should always be to ‘do no harm’; but to also ‘do good’ will be a much higher bar to reach.

Have some thoughts on Corporate Socially Responsibility in the context of international development?  Join the dialogue by 1) commenting below;  2) by reading and commenting on other blogs this week and/or 3) contributing one of your own!

Although I generally don’t like Contests, they do exist, and sometimes participation is important.

Earlier this year a partnership of the Gates Foundation, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, USAID and the World Bank launched a Grand Challenge “To accelerate substantial and sustainable progress against maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths at the community level, [by harnessing] the collective imagination and ingenuity of experts across a broad range of disciplines and expertise.”

A project I have been working with for the past few years, Helping Babies Breathe is a finalist.   One of the aspects of Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) that is particularly compelling  is its collaborative nature.  The HBB Implementation team places a major focus on communication and coordination among all stakeholders and matching existing programs and resources with new ones. Starting as a project of the American Academy of Pediatrics and then as a Global Development Alliance of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the US Agency for International Development (USAID); Laerdal Medical, a manufacturer and distributor of resuscitation devices, the US National Institute of Child and Human Development, and Save the Children, there are now over 10 other civil society organizations, government agencies and corporations involved in supporting the roll-out in over 25 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) countries, as well as health officials in each country.

Although I am partial to Helping Babies Breathe, the Grand Challenge finalists include a number of other excellent projects.  Karen Grepin in her post:   “How to Save a Life – You decide” writes about one she is working with.

The Grand Challenge’s voting procedure allows you to vote for a number of different projects: Grand Challenge Finalists.  Please support Helping Babies Breath and others that also put a priority on collaboration.   By continuing to model and encourage collaboration, hopefully we can move funders more in this direction.