Breaking the Cycle: How Feedback Loops Shape Humanitarian Work
In 1970, MIT professor Jay Forrester made a startling observation about urban poverty programs: many well-intentioned interventions were actually making the problems they sought to solve worse. Housing programs designed to help the poor were concentrating poverty and creating urban decay. Job training programs were pulling the most capable people out of struggling communities, weakening them further. Good intentions weren't enough—the systems themselves were creating cycles that perpetuated the very problems they aimed to fix.
Going Nowhere, Fast: Why Objectivity and Efficiency are Not Enough
For our clients and partners in the social sector, the tension between objective efficiency and subjective social good is felt every time they’re asked to calculate the ROI of a person no longer sleeping in the cold or the economic impact of community solidarity. It’s not that such returns don’t exist, it’s that they fail to capture virtually any of what actually makes such work important.
Making “Theory of Change” Matter
A theory of change, when done well, is more than a schematic. It’s a window into the strategic thinking of an organization—how it understands the problem it's trying to solve, the levers it believes can move that problem, and the assumptions that undergird every action it takes. For funders, engaging seriously with a grantee’s theory of change isn’t just due diligence, it’s a way to deepen partnership, surface learning opportunities, and sharpen impact.
7 Reasons Why Social Impact Measurement Matters
Social impact measurement can (and should) be more than a box you check. It can help you maximize the good, avoid the bad, and get buy-in so you can do even more.
The Heart and Soul of Social Good—Part 3: The Science and Art of Social Impact
To have impact at scale, you must understand people at scale. Sociologists can, of course, help measure outcomes and can draw on past research to consult from outside. But where we do our best work is from the inside, as part of the design team, where we can help you make sure that all relevant voices are heard and that all relevant markers are being factored into your definition of success.
The Heart and Soul of Social Good—Part 1: Understanding the Field
It may go without saying that “social good” is the goal of most nonprofit organizations, philanthropies, community organizations and is an integral part of what local, state, and federal governments intend to do—benefit society. So, if social good is an innately human experience and the idea itself is not new, what is?