DREAM

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Keeping in mind that social impact takes in to consideration the needs of people – their current and approaching problems, aspirations and challenges – and it reflects fundamental changes achieved in the quality of their lives, it is logical to conclude that as such social impact itself is not set in stone but it changes – not just over time, but from society to society, from one development phase to another, from one side of the world to another. In other words, like any other ‘living thing’, this process that leads to the achievement of social impact adapts, moves, grows, stagnates, responds to circumstances and to stimulation. And, like any other ‘living thing’, it has its anatomy i.e. vital parts that maintain its life. In the human body there are five vital organs: brain, heart, kidneys, liver and lungs. If one of these organs stops functioning, the human life will be in danger. The same goes for achievement of social impact – if one of its anatomical parts is not taken in consideration, that will probably be the reason why positive social impact has not been achieved.

Based on years of experience – in conducting assessments and evaluations of short-mid-long term programmes supported and implemented by different national and international stakeholders in various sectors – my definition of the Anatomy of Social Impact encompasses the following seven components:

1) dream
2) trigger of change
3) quality improvement
4) complexity
5) time
6) values
7) evidence

Most components of the Anatomy will be presented by a different example that explains its role and refers to one of the aspects of population growth. Examples are real and substantial and their purpose is to show what is needed for any positive social impact to happen – and why it is crucial that stakeholders look at programmes from a long-term impact perspective.

Dream is the first component of the Anatomy. To make a long-lasting social impact, those who are involved in a process have to have the dream that serves humanity. An inspiring, lucid, prophetic, epic, healing dream that is big enough to change for the better: individuals, communities, institutions, society or even the whole world.
In 1971 a reporter was talking with Walt Disney’s son at the grand opening of Disney World in Florida. The reporter said, “It is too bad Walt didn’t live to see this.” Walt’s son replied, “He did. That is why you are looking at it now.”

Humanity-oriented dreaming is often called visioning, discovery or even goal-setting. Dreaming can be individual or shared. It can be focused on one particular thing or involve multidimensional aspects. It can have many forms and faces. It can be anything under the sky as long as it serves humanity and leads towards positive social impact. Life experience shows that, when it comes to life-changing decisions that could have a strong impact on their lives, people usually follow their dreams – not their business plans.

TRIGGER OF CHANGE

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Trigger of Change is the second component of the Anatomy of Social Impact. Positive social impact is the result of fundamental beneficial change that, once achieved, becomes woven into the new and improved fabric of the lives of individuals, communities, institutions/systems or society. As such it always encompasses: 1) problems that have to be addressed, 2) context in which those problems arise, 3) drivers of change (individuals or stakeholders) that might resolve them.
The following example demonstrates some triggers of change that might be employed in order to meaningfully address the majority of the above-mentioned issues of concern.

Think of Malaysia – a wonderful tropical country that is one of the 12 mega-biodiverse countries in the world (read: it has breathtakingly beautiful rainforests populated with animals and plants that most of us have only seen in National Geographic or on the Animal Planet channel). A country so rightly proud and protective of its rich cultural, religious and ethnic diversity – and so not protective of its worldwide-acknowledged bio-diversity (Central Forest Spine). A country that has a rapidly decreasing percentage of rainforest coverage because it has for decades been linking some measures of its economic growth to the cutting and selling of timber from the fragile jungles.
A country that has many dedicated environmental activists, volunteers and people who dearly care about their environment – yet it has relatively few local scientists, experts and knowledgeable decision-makers in the area of biodiversity conservation.

The prognosis was not good, but all that was needed for these negative issues in a very challenging multidimensional context to shift into positive transformation were three strong triggers of change: 1) one passionate, dedicated foreign professor in conservation biology and his team of young localstudents, 2) one good university, 3) one donor who decided to support 5 local MA and 5 local PhD students in conservation biology.

Over the course of seven years, a countless number of lectures, seminars, coaching and mentorship sessions were conducted with students. Academic papers were published in relevant national and international scientific journals, and many engagement meetings with relevant authorities and stakeholders were organised in order to present results and raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation in Malaysia.

It might sound simplistic when presented in one paragraph but these and many other in reality rather complex activities and interactions resulted in a change in the national demographics of experts i.e. a significant increase in the relevant national knowledge which is a key precondition for achievement of both environmental and social impacts that might be attained in the next few years:
1) stopping further deforestation and increases in fragmentation of rainforests,
2) prevention of future floods, pollution and impoverishment of water catchment areas,
3) stopping extinction or endangerment of species that live in rainforests.

In years to come, knowledgeable decision-makers, scientists, strong expert activist groups and supportive donors will, we hope, do many other significant and positive things in order to stop deforestation and extinction of species because once limited natural resources are depleted, there will be no strategies, policies, laws or funds that would be able to reverse this.

A function of this component of the Anatomy is to analyse problems from different perspectives and then to select and employ the best triggers of change that will over years contribute to the achievement of positive social impact. These triggers of change are usually related to knowledge building and its adequate use by all stakeholders.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

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Quality improvement is the third component of the Anatomy of Social Impact. It is mirrored in our general wellbeing i.e. satisfaction with all that matters in our lives including health, family, safety, social relationships, education, employment, wealth, finances, environment, opportunities and expectations. Having said that, this component of the Anatomy is linked to the quality of our lives and is very subjective, multidimensional and certainly involves emotional EKG (Electrocardiogram).

The relevance of the following example is directly linked to the fact that, in decades to come, the world is going to have not just more people but more elderly people. The UN predicts that the rate of population ageing in the 21st century will exceed that of the previous century. It is projected that the combined senior and geriatric population will reach 2.1 billion by 2050. This will, for sure: put strain on health and medical infrastructure; cause insufficient funds for social services; exert pressure to increase taxes because there will be more pensions to pay; increase demand for unpaid family carers; increase already worrying level of social inequality.

If we consider the elderly people in the wider community, in suburbs and in the countryside, we will without any doubt notice (unless living in a blissfully privileged country) that the elderly in general tend to be socially excluded and emotionally neglected by their families, communities and society as a whole. If we dig deeper, we will find that activities and social services that target the elderly population are either non-existent or difficult to access. Quite often first aid/emergency will prioritize other patients in need or be reluctant to attend to patients that are over 75. The elderly in rural and remote areas are almost forgotten by everyone and their pensions – if indeed they have them or they are not misused by retirement funds – are insufficient to cover their basic needs and medications. In many countries in the world, in order to survive the elderly have to work until their last day on the Earth …

So if we look again at what well-being means, we will easily conclude that the quality of life for the majority of today’s elderly does not look good and that in many countries across the globe aging is very poignant story. Having in mind some of the above-mentioned issues of concern that our aging world might face, it is obvious that stakeholders have to seriously start considering other ways and alternatives that will help us to introduce quality improvements that will positively influence the lives of the current and future elderly (read: us) in the decades to come.
This is both our responsibility and potentially your business opportunity.

COMPLEXITY

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Complexity is the fourth component of the Anatomy of Social Impact that is reflected in its multi-sectoral activities, relationships, risks, interdependencies, resources and obstacles.

A decade ago, a few analysts – of whom Norman Myers, the British environmentalist who is recognized for his work on environmental refugees, is perhaps the best known – have tried to estimate the number of people who will be forced to move over the long-term as a direct result of climate change¹. His estimate was 200 million by 2050. Some academics challenged Myers methods but they all agreed that climate change will significantly increase their number in years to come.
From 2011-2017, the Syrian crisis brought around 5 million refugees, mostly to their neighbouring countries and then to Europe². From witnessing it in person, or reading and watching reports, we all know how unprepared, unresponsive and resistant most of the well-developed EU countries have been while facing the refugee issues. Occasionally, some uplifting, heart-warming story popped up, but we are all aware of reports of inhuman treatment of refugees, deaths of their children, fear of refugees, and constant social tensions between refugees and the local populations.
We know about lack of security in the region due to terrorist attacks and many other social and political issues that have followed. Now, 5 million refugees that ‘caused’ these multidimensional problems are like a summer breeze in comparison with the almost unimaginable potential 200 million that might appear, not just in Europe but worldwide, in the next 30+ years. This may not happen – but if it does, it will be equivalent to a global hurricane.

Having these complex problems in mind the question is: what can we today start doing which will in 30+ years help absorb X millions of suffering people (we and our families might be among them!)? What is the positive social impact that we can make in the lives of refugees and our own? What policies, structures, mechanisms and resources have to be in place so that we don’t compete for resources?

The negative side of complexity is discouraging, depressing and could easily lead to us giving up and focusing on some other, less demanding problems. However, a function of complexity as profit oriented world knows is also to enable the involvement of different stakeholders that will over years bring new approaches, perspectives, contacts, suggestions, options and solutions for existing problems. This continuous flow of new inputs will slowly but surely break down and digest some of the problems and therefore contribute to the balancing of different interrelated factors.

Can your company meaningfully contribute to these processes?

1 - Human Development Report 2007/2008
2 - UNHCR reports that the total number of Syrian refugees abroad stood at 4.85 million by the end of 2016. The first three months of 2017 saw more than 250,000 additional Syrians refugees which brings the total number to 5.1 million.

TIME AND VALUES

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Time is the fifth component of the Anatomy of Social Impact. Usually a long time is needed for positive social impact to happen, for obstacles to surrender, for persistence to start bringing results, for resources and support to pile up and become sustainable, for the dream to become true.
The following example demonstrates how long it takes to achieve positive social impact even in a highly developed country.

Let us consider the right of women in Switzerland to vote. On 1 February 1959, a referendum on women’s right to vote was rejected by the majority (67%) of Switzerland’s men. It took 12 more years (1971) for women to obtain the right to vote in national elections, and 20 more years (1991!) for all Swiss cantons to grant women the vote on local issues. In total it took 32 years of building coalitions, consultations, organizing and conducting public campaigns, raising awareness, developing policy recommendations, building capacity, lobbying, conducting research and comparative analysis – multiple activities with various results – to achieve right to vote. And this is Switzerland: land of law, order, efficiency and rigid discipline (and delicious chocolate!). Imagine how long this or similar processes would take/have taken in some other less democratic, less developed countries?

A function of this component of the Anatomy is to bring wisdom that was lacking at the beginning of the journey and to help stakeholders to learn from the process of maturing of different practices and their own role in impact making.

Values are the sixth component of the Anatomy. They are both personal belief (something that comes from within) and systems of beliefs that are taught for deciding good or bad.

While following the dream and making complex changes that in the long run positively impact the quality of life, a big part of social impact is who we as individuals, communities and society become while achieving it. That process of impact-making might be, and usually is, full of doubt, uncertainties, fear and questioning – but it could as well be the source of an increased sense of belonging to something that is bigger than ourselves, a source of solidarity, altruism, volunteerism and social cohesion.

It should be mentioned that some social impacts were achieved as a side effect of work that in its original form had purely economic or some other purpose. The following example is centuries old; however, it is very relevant because it unlocked many potentials and brought up so many unforeseen positive social impacts that over the course of time forever changed the worldwide system of values.

As a technology, the printing press was invented in Asia (China and Korea) and was discovered centuries before Gutenberg – widely, yet not accurately acknowledged as the inventor of the printing press – was born. Historical sources indicate that Gutenberg was probably aware of the Asian technology, so he improved and adjusted it for the West and started manufacturing. This led to the mass production of books, manuscripts, newspapers, promotional material – which triggered the process of mass education that empowered people to raise their voices, print their words, share them with others and bring onto the agenda many and varied burning issues: social, political, economic and others. Even though his work didn’t originally focus on the promotion and achievement of social justice, it did eventually become a birth place of values – education for all and freedom of speech – that were later incorporated into the founding constitutions of many countries. They became universal values.

The function of Values as a component of the Anatomy is to prevent, alleviate or remove social waste – such as crime, bribery, favouritism, injustice, manipulation, corruption, racism and discrimination – from our lives, communities and societies. Opposing and combating them will require deeply embedded positive values that have the power to remove toxic behaviour and, by so doing, clear the way for positive social impact to happen.

EVIDENCE

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Evidence is the seventh component of the Anatomy of Social Change. The real secret of social or any other type of impact is consciousness of the impact and the ability to prove it. As W. Edwards Deming, an acknowledged American engineer and statistician, once said: “In God we trust, all others brings data.”

When it comes to data there are at least four main issues of concern:
- lack of regularly updated and reliable data produced by national and local statistical offices,
- lack of other relevant sources that provide both quantitative and qualitative data that has standardized methodology and could be compared over long periods of time,
- usefulness of data that might not always bring clarity to the decision making process (it is a well-known fact that many national, state and local data reports “remain on the shelf gathering dust, because they were more wish list then useful policy tool”¹),
- interpretation of collected data. It is always interesting to see different colourful pies and donuts (using dessert names is a really nice attempt to make this whole discipline more attractive) – but all of us who have ever had to look at countless pages with Excel sheets full of numbers (that eventually turn into pies and graphs) know how opaque, discouraging and confusing this process can sometimes be if there are no analysts, experts and communicators to make sense of it and to put it into proper perspective.

To make it crystal clear, for the desired positive social impacts to be achieved and proven sound, reliable and relevant data is a Must. Regardless are we talking about monetary profit making (business development) or social profit making (social development) data enables: the sorting of facts from opinion; knowledge building; ideas creation; testing and piloting of innovations. It gives credibility to what we are doing and achieving; it backs up our arguments during negotiations; it helps make the right decision (not necessarily the most popular one); it gives us baselines for comparison; it helps improve implementation of our programmes; it indicates the gaps and opportunities that we should pay attention to; it proves if we (or someone else) are on the right or wrong track.
It is not an easy job to regularly collect relevant data, to accurately interpret it and to rightly put it to use – but it is essential.

With this in mind, it is rather easy to notice (now that one knows what to look for) that annual reports of different organizations, foundations, social enterprises/impact investors, corporations and governments across the world are full of data that actually presents their Doings i.e. their activities and short-to-midterm results achieved within one or a few years – and very little data on the social impact they have Achieved over longer period of time.
As Charles Leadbeater, a British author and former advisor to Tony Blair noticed: ‘… there is more interest in activity than demonstrable impact’.

A function of this component of the Anatomy is to enable regular check-ups of the overall health of the impact-making process and therefore to identify weak and problematic components of the Anatomy.

1 - Statistical indicators for Arts Policy, International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA).