APS 1015: Social Entrepreneurship

Class 3: Gap Analysis within Social Systems

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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Instructors: Norm Tasevski (norm@socialentrepreneurship.ca) Karim Harji (karim@socialentrepreneurship.ca)

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Agenda

•  Recap of Social Systems (Class 2) •  Guest Speaker – Andrew Reddin (Social Capital

Partners) •  Break •  Gap Analysis within Social Systems •  Next week

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Systems Mapping (Recap from Last Week)…

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Cause and Effect Chain - Example

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Poverty

Result Effect

Hunger

Cause (Proximate)

Can’t grow enough food

Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Not enough water?

Not enough labour?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

Changing rain

patterns?

No irrigation resources?

People sick?

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

The Vicious Circle

•  A symptom (effect) of a social condition can also be a cause, which then serves to further deepen the social condition

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Vicious Circle - Example

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Poverty

Result Effect

Hunger

Cause (Proximate)

Can’t grow enough food

Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Not enough water?

Not enough labour?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

Changing rain

patterns?

No irrigation resources?

People sick?

Malnutrition

Poor Health

Hunger could therefore be both an effect and a cause of

poverty

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Vulnerability vs. Resiliency

•  Vulnerability –  The reduced ability for elements within a system to

withstand shocks to the system –  Examples of shocks:

•  A crop failure/drought •  A health crisis/new illness

•  Resiliency –  The absence of vulnerability (i.e. the ability to absorb

shocks to a system)

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

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“Root Causes of Poverty” Workshop

Tabe Ere

Guest Speaker: Andrew Reddin

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Break

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Gap Analysis

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Current State & Future State

•  Current State –  The amount of “stock” between two elements in a system –  The stock is typically a measurable quantity –  Examples:

•  Amount of water behind a dam •  Level of trust in government •  Amount of money in a bank account

–  The current state can have either in an ideal level, an over-abundance or a scarcity of stock

•  Future State –  The ideal level of stock between elements in a system

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Inflows and Outflows

•  Inflows –  An increase in stock

•  Outflows –  A decrease in stock

•  Example: Soil erosion –  Excess inflow of water;

insufficient/ineffective outflow of water

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Correcting Loops

•  The mechanisms for controlling the inflows and outflows within a social system to maintain an ideal state

•  Correcting loops are not necessarily “visible” in a system –  Example: how do we

maintain ideal state of trust in government?

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

•  What correcting loop can we form in the system shown above?

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Correcting Loops

•  The mechanisms for controlling the inflows and outflows within a social system to maintain an ideal state

•  Correcting loops are not necessarily “visible” in a system –  Example: how do we

maintain ideal state of trust in government?

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

•  What correcting loop can we form in the system shown above?

•  What is the ideal state?

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Parameters

•  The considerations/factors that affect inflow and outflow

•  Example: Erosion –  Rainfall –  Soil type –  Landscape/topography –  Vegetation type –  Land management

•  Can be unchangeable or changeable

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

•  What parameters can be changed? What can’t be changed?

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Parameters (Continued)

Parameters are one form of intervention (aka “Leverage Points”) to address gaps in a system But… …we will cover leverage points in class 4

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Gap Analysis within Systems

•  Goal: –  Identify the gaps between current state and future state to

begin to understand how to design an intervention to address the gap

•  Steps: –  Describe the current state (inflows, outflows, changeable +

non-changeable parameters) –  Describe the ideal future state (ideal inflow/outflow levels

and ideal parameters)

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Exercise

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Describe the current state in one area of this system

Poverty

Result Effect

Hunger

Cause (Proximate)

Can’t grow enough food

Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Not enough water?

Not enough labour?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

Changing rain

patterns?

No irrigation resources?

People sick?

Malnutrition

Poor Health

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Another Gap Analysis Technique

•  PESTEL Analysis –  Political: The degree to which government intervenes in a

system •  E.g.: political stability, tax/education/health policies

–  Economic: The degree to which economic factors affect a system •  E.g.: economic growth, interest rates, inflation

–  Social: Cultural factors that affect a system •  E.g. attitudes toward health, career, the elderly

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

PESTEL (Continued)

•  PESTEL Analysis (Continued) –  Technological: Technological factors found in a system

•  E.g.: level of R&D, level of automation –  Environmental: Ecological and environmental factors in a

system •  E.g.: weather, climate, land use/degradation

–  Legal: The man-made laws governing a system •  E.g. tax/employment/health laws, type of legal system

(e.g. civil, common, religious)

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© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

What did we learn?

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