OUR APPROACH
The escalating threats of climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, conflict, and socioeconomic inequality worldwide underscore the urgent need for a global paradigm shift. To reestablish equilibrium between people, nature and eco0nomy, prompt and profound systemoc alterations are needed in the drivers, behaviours, interactions and mental models of key system actors across local, national and global levels
To catalyse such a significant transformation, ‘impact’ has to be defined, understood, trageted and assessed in more systemic and participatory ways. This entails engaging key system actors or stakeholders in the analysis and design processes in ways that trigger their excitement and commitment to learning and developing solutions together that equally benefit people and the planet.
We believe that the primary reason many investments don’t yield genuine transformative change is their failure to comprehend the system and to meaningfully engage key system actors who have a direct or indirect stake.
This picture comes from an article in the NY Times (Sept 2017) that talks about how affordable food from Nestle and similar multinationals has helped to fight hunger, but also contributed to creating an obesity epidemic worldwide. The story shows how multi-facetted and interconnected the challenges of Sustainable Development actually are (e.g. health, education, agriculture, corporate growth). [Click on picture for accessing the article.]
Our approach is essentially
Systemic. We help our clients and their partners to see through the system (e.g. how behaviours and interventions combine and interact with each other and with the environment to affect change) and address the causes (not just the symptoms) to achieve transformative change and impact.
Participatory. We are also committed to an inclusive, collaborative and engaging process to build shared ownership of the problems and solutions, and develop shared lessons and insights around a common Theory of System Change.
Rigorously innovative. We strive for the highest ‘quality of thought’ in designing and combining methods and processes and building robust and credible evidence, aiming for optimal value for all involved and affected. Our approach embraces epistemic, ontological and methodological pluralism and upholds ‘inclusive rigour’, based on the premise that single truth claims don’t yield sustainable solutions.
