Introduction to Strategic Thinking, Design and the Theory of Change (original) (raw)

2023, Strategic Thinking, Design and the Theory of Change

This book aims to assist all those people and organizations that invest time, energy, and passion into designing social interventions that have the potential to be transformational and lead to a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable society. Whether working with innovative services, social projects or enterprises, community-driven initiatives or development programmes, scores of entrepreneurs, innovators and designers strive to bring their ideas to life in contexts and environments that can be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (Bennet & Lemoine, 2014). It's no wonder that a good number of these projects fail. According to data collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the European Commission, the vast majority of companies close down or go bankrupt within ten years of their foundation. 1 Research carried out in 2017 shows that the situation for social enterprises is even harsher, with more than 80 per cent closing down operations within three years. 2 With the failure rate for the development of new products and services at around 40 per cent, it's challenging for companies and organizations to move towards innovation (Castellion & Markham, 2013). Within the specific domain of international development projects-typically run by government institutions and non-governmental organizations-the success of these projects is generally considered below acceptable levels despite important results in the health, rural development, and education sectors in recent decades (Ahsan & Gunawan, 2010; Diallo & Thuillier, 2004; Youker, 1999). These studies simply confirm the widespread belief that getting ideas off the ground by, for example, creating a successful social enterprise, managing a complex international aid project, or designing and implementing an innovative service is challenging. This is particularly unfortunate in times when many individuals and organizations are interested in designing social interventions that are not solely driven by profit-making logic but rather have changing