Kevin Starr talks about his article "Don't Feed the Zombies" and how if we focus on measuring reach, instead of caring about impact, we end up doing harm in the world. His vision is a world where you can't get taken seriously if you can't talk about real, measurable change in the lives of people we serve, and the evidence to back it up. "The minute you commit to impact, and a definition thereof, you're starting to be part of the solution." What's a definition of impact? Evidence of change that happened in someone's life, and a plausible description about how your part in that change worked. If we (especially donors) are not accountable for impact, they end up supporting groups that aren't accountable to the people they serve, and are not driving for the full potential of what we can get done in the world. Here are some other links to check out:
Design For Everyone, Not for Experts
Square Pegs and Round Holes: Fitting research to community needs
Hurry Up and Wait: How Working With Young People in VSLA Changes the Pace of Programming
Exciting Times: Creating Urban Savings Groups With No Experience
Mobility, Instability, and Crisis: Creating Savings Groups in Emergencies
Embracing Imperfection: Rapid Gender Analysis and Knowing You Don't Have All the Answers
Soyez Courageux et Realiste: Le lecons pour la creation des projets qui marche
Be Bold and Realistic: Creating space for project plans that will work
(English Version) Tell Yourself You Don't Know Everything: Lessons Learned and Near Misses from 25+ years of VSLA
Tell Yourself You Don't Know Everything: Near Misses and Lessons Learned from 25+ Years of VSLA
Communities Creating Plan B: How Sanitation Approaches Failed in Benin, and Communities Found a Solution
Three Months to Turn Things Around: When Innovation Becomes Necessity
The Learning From Failure Report: A Systemic Look at What Goes Wrong
Making People Suffer: The Perils of Partnership and Budget Delays
It's All About Backup: When Experimental Systems Go Wrong
The Art of Humility: Accepting Reality and Learning From Failure
9 Ways Not To Build a House: Trying to provide dignified shelter in Ugandan Refugee Camps
Notes from the cutting edge: How work with youth highlighted gaps in implementation
Implementation is Not Enough: Applying Lessons from Agriculture Practices that Farmers Won't Use
Digital Projects and the Danger of Expertise
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The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Advocacy Scoop Podcast
Social Dallas Podcast
Change Church Podcast
Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon
Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications