The Problems with the "I" Word

Co-authored by Eliana Summer-Galai & Ophelie Namiech

At Mindset-PCS, many questions keep us awake at night.

One of them is about “impact”. How can a simple word mean so much and so little at the same time?

Quick confession, we are not big fans of the word. Yet, we have made it our lives’ work - way before the word became a trendy hashtag. This is because we resonate with the intention of impact. But over the years, it has taken so many forms that it has actually become shapeless. It is as if it has lost its original deeper meaning.?

As Eliana joined Mindset-PCS as a Partner to lead our private sector’s impact work, we took a moment to reflect on what this word means for us and how we approach impact. First, we can all agree that, when we talk about impact we mean, in the simplest terms, actions that positively influence people, their communities and environment, and the world at large. But to dive deeper into the meaning of the word, let’s highlight what impact is not, or what it shouldn’t be (but too often, unfortunately, is):

1. Impact should NOT be siloed?
2. Impact should NOT be centralized
3. Impact should? NOT only be solution-pushed (but demand-driven)
4. Impact is NOT new
5. Impact is NOT an output. And certainly not a hashtag

1. Impact should NOT be siloed.?

Today’s social, environmental, and humanitarian problems are too complex and interconnected to be addressed linearly or in silos. To tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, we need cross-cultural and cross disciplinary collaborations. Solutions must pull from a wide range of disciplines, actors, and systems of knowledge, that go beyond the traditional sectoral dichotomies.?

It is not just about social and humanitarian actors anymore - every discipline has a role to play. Designers, architects, scientists, engineers, academics, practitioners, business specialists, and others outside "traditional impact-oriented sectors" can help us, “traditional impact practitioners”, see things we do not necessarily see, deconstruct problems differently, and explore creative solutions, collectively.

At Mindset-PCS, we turn systemic thinking into action through our unique “3-Multis Approach” which brings together multiple disciplines, actors, and epistemologies (or systems of knowledge) to broaden our spheres of knowledge and analysis and ultimately inform change.

2. Impact should NOT be centralized.

No single “impact model” or approach can be applied everywhere. Yet, impact trends traditionally spring from a power-centric, mainstreamed, and rather restrictive/limiting circle. Ideas, actors, and approaches that sit outside of that mainstream impact circle rarely receive the same level of visibility and in fine, the same level of legitimacy. This creates a multitude of smaller epistemic arenas flourishing in parallel to (or in the margin of) the mainstream circle and reinforcing a certain epistemic bias. This stratification is not only counterproductive but harmful to impact work because it silences fundamental knowledge and approaches from diverse actors that are needed to solve complex problems. We need a flow of knowledge sharing from diverse directions.?

For example, mainstream impact models - whether social/humanitarian or innovation models - have not yet been successful in meaningfully engaging and leveraging indigenous knowledge and other diverse ways of knowing. The risk is to see actors approaching impact in a uniform way, thereby failing to recognize other ways of thinking and knowing despite the multitude of social, economic, cultural, environmental, and humanitarian realities (and needs) globally.?

So at Mindset-PCS, we are committed to moving beyond the dominant narrative by identifying and working with actors that operate in the “silent corners” - where magic often happens, beyond the impact spotlights. Through our work, we have realized that many revolutionary initiatives happen in those hidden corners and are led by actors who are not part of the mainstream global discussions and work. Our mission is to uncover them and bring them in so that, together, we can deconstruct what we know, reshape our way of thinking and doing, and unveil new paradigms. For example, we are committed to exploring and genuinely harnessing diverse epistemologies (e.g. indigenous and local knowledge, ideas of people directly affected by crises) to find people-anchored solutions.

3. Impact should NOT only be solution-pushed (but demand-driven).

Too often, projects and innovations are solution-obsessed before even understanding what the problems are.?

Traditional impact models are often disconnected to the lived realities of people, communities and systems that are affected by specific challenges. Take for example, traditional impact innovation or investment schemes; they are often led by people with no or very limited experience of the problems they are tackling, and often lack early engagement from the affected communities and systems.?

At Mindset-PCS, we want to reverse that, so the challenges and opportunities faced by people and communities INFORM the way impact is imagined, designed and implemented (i.e. impact funding trends, decision-making, partnerships etc). This is the true essence of our mission. And as such, we advocate for a demand-pulled (instead of a solution-pushed/technology-pushed) approach to impact.

Achieving meaningful change requires a commitment to new ideas and objectives informed by people and systems that experience specific problems. It must be a collaborative, creative (and somehow bold, yet safe) iterative process.?

This is why Mindset-PCS functions like a(n innovation) research lab. As a multidisciplinary platform, we research, test, pilot, scale, and share creative solutions to complex challenges.?

We use design methods and equitable participatory approaches and strive to mitigate our conscious and unconscious biases to apprehend the uniqueness of each context and identify the most relevant, responsible, and inclusive pathways to change. We are at an inflection point, we need bold brave ideas that will shake up the business as usual.?

4. Impact is NOT new.

The word “Impact” has become buzzy over the past years/decade or so. And this trend coincides with the increased private sector’s engagement into social, environmental, and humanitarian work.? “Impact” is in fact the private sector’s jargon for work that has been done, under other names (e.g. outcome-driven programming, philanthropy). In the past, this type of “do good” work was mostly seen as charity, philanthropy, or traditional humanitarian and social work. In recent years, we have gladly witnessed businesses stepping up as a force for good, challenging the notion that companies should only be focused on one bottom line. This creates an opportunity to challenge the bedrock of how we tackle problems. We should take the lessons learned from philanthropy and social, environmental, and humanitarian work and combine them with learning from business. We must leverage each other’s strengths and resources to inform each other.

This is why at Mindset-PCS, we believe in blended knowledge. Echoing the increasing discussions on the importance of blended finance for sustainable development which combined philanthropy with private investments, our impact work combines humanitarian and international development expertise with private sector actors’ perspectives and experiences by bringing together the “old guard” (e.g. traditional actors humanitarian development actors) and the “new guard” (e.g companies, impact innovation and investment actors).

5. Impact is NOT an output. And certainly not a hashtag.

Too often, “impact” is used to serve marketing and communication purposes. The “impact” of a program is quantified, for example, by the number of startups reached, or the number of people trained. This is really wrong. We must move away - very far away - from this output-oriented approach to impact, where numbers mean more than actual change.

To drive meaningful change, impact needs to be more than a checkbox or a row on a sheet.? It needs to be truly lived through and by the organizations or companies. We need to ensure that the values we hold not only lead us, but are lived by us.?

This is why, at Mindset-PCS, we advocate for a purpose-lived approach - which takes us several steps further than a “purpose-driven” mindset. A purpose-lived approach ensures that actors do not stop at the impact oriented visionary rhetoric but actually embody the purpose-driven goals and values into their daily work, mindset, and DNA.

So, what IS impact??

For us, at Mindset-PCS,? impact goes beyond products, projects, interventions, and certainly beyond numbers. It's about people, their environment, and the systems in which they evolve - and about how we can address their needs while maximizing their opportunities.?

Too often, impact processes focus primarily on the projects, the activities, the products or “innovations” rather than on what people truly need to live healthy, safe, productive, and dignified lives.

Interventions (and products) that are disconnected from people’s needs and isolated from the multifaceted systems in which they operate, will not be sufficient to address the root causes of the complex and intertwined problems the world is facing and which require longer-term transformational changes.

This is why at Mindset-PCS, we put people at the center - in both their diversity and uniqueness, and their commonalities. By people, we include individuals, their communities, the environment and the various systems in which they evolve.?

We are committed to advancing new ways of thinking and operating in the humanitarian-development-impact space. As we amplify our purpose-driven strategy, we want to invite you all to reach out, connect, and share your approach to “impact”.

Interested in joining our journey, visit our website , join us on linkedin , and contact us!

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