APS 1015: Class 4 - Intervening in Social Systems
- 1. APS 1015: Social Entrepreneurship Class 4: Intervening in Social Systems Wednesday, May 29, 2013 1 Instructors: Norm Tasevski (norm@socialentrepreneurship.ca) Karim Harji (karim@socialentrepreneurship.ca)
- 2. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Agenda • Recap of Gap Analysis (Class 3) • Overview of Systems Interventions • Guest Speaker – Assaf Weisz (Purpose Capital) • Break • Guest Speaker – Sal Alajek (Engineers Without Borders) • Next week 2
- 3. Gap Analysis (Recap from Last Week…) 3
- 4. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Key Concepts • Current State vs. Future Stage – Current State: The amount of “stock” between two elements in a system – Future State: The ideal level of stock between elements in a system • Inflows vs. Outflows – Inflows: An increase in stock – Outflows: A decrease in stock • Correcting Loops – The mechanisms for controlling the inflows and outflows within a social system to maintain an ideal state • Parameters – Factors that affect inflow and outflow 4
- 5. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Another Gap Analysis Technique • PESTEL Analysis – Political: The degree to which government intervenes in a system – Economic: The degree to which economic factors affect a system – Social: Cultural factors that affect a system – Technological: Technological factors found in a system – Environmental: Ecological and environmental factors in a system – Legal: The man-made laws governing a system 5
- 6. Intervening in a System 6
- 7. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Leverage Points Leverage Point: An intervention that addresses a gap in a system 7
- 8. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Types of Leverage Points 1. Slowing down or speeding up a correcting loop that already exists in a system – Example of a slow down: The flu • With no intervention, what is the effect does flu create in a system? • What intervention can slow down the flu? • Slowing down the flu will therefore result in what change in the system? – Example of a speed up: Voting rights in democracy • With no intervention, what effect does restricted voting (e.g. preventing women to vote) have on the system? • What intervention can “speed up” voting rights? • Speeding up voting rights will result in what change in the system? 8
- 9. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji The Challenge with Focusing on Correcting Loops Alone • The nature of the intervention (and how it affects the rest of the system) dictates how resilient the system becomes 9
- 10. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Example Consider response to 2011 Japan Earthquake… 10
- 11. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Example … 11
- 12. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Example Compare to response to Pakistani floods… 12 In response to why people are not giving to the Pakistani flood in the same way as they did for Haiti, one woman said:! ! “It’s a rogue state, if they can afford the nuclear bomb they can look after their own”! !
- 13. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Types of Leverage Points 2. Building resiliency in a system through self- organization – Systems that self-organize are systems that evolve and naturally adapt to shocks to a system – Intervention focused on self-organization builds completely new structures and new behaviours – Example of self-organization: Human culture • Stock? Social customs, conventions, symbols • What happens to human culture when shocked (e.g. increased immigration from a new region of the world)? 13
- 14. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji Question How could social entrepreneurship act to create leverage points? 14
- 16. Break 16
- 18. © Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji What did we learn? 18