Solving a problem but not 'the' problem

Hello, fellow Impact makers!

I hope you're all doing well and your LinkedIn pages are thriving! Now that we're all getting the hang of LinkedIn analytics, I want to shift my focus to collaboration. This month, let's focus on coming together with stakeholders and other organisations in the social space to amplify our impact and create meaningful change.

Have you heard of solving a problem but not the problem? In the social impact space, NGOs and social enterprises are dedicated to addressing pressing issues within our communities. However, we often encounter a common pitfall – attempting to solve a problem without fully understanding the root cause.

Take, for example, Ilera'a Mi, an NGO I co-founded. We aimed to promote Health education in public primary schools and one of such ways to achieve this is to collaborate with the health clubs in these schools. Initially, we believed underperforming health clubs schools were due to a lack of curriculum.?

However, stakeholder engagement revealed the real issue: Teachers had the curriculum but needed more resources and methods to effectively break down the material for the students. Most of the time, health club meetings didn't even happen because of this. We also saw them using non-contextual resources; materials depicting foreign scenarios and concepts local kids simply don't relate to. We had to rethink our approach.? Instead of developing a new curriculum, we focused on creating resources tailored to the teachers' and, most importantly, the children's needs.

This scenario underscores the importance of community engagement before implementing solutions.

Problems in communities are complex, like a tree: you have the leaves, branches, trunk, and roots. Root causes are the hardest to solve, but merely plucking leaves won't stop the tree's growth

How do you engage with the community to get the information you need?

Define Your Focus, clearly determine the specific community and the potential area your social impact would address. As obvious as this is, it's important because, during your community engagement, you’d start getting opinions and suggestions or sometimes find out it's more complicated than anticipated. Don’t get ahead of yourself!

In Direct Interaction:? You could Partner with local nonprofits, community centres, or religious organisations. They often have direct insights into the needs of the community. You can also find data from government sources, census reports, or local research institutions.

Direct Interaction

1. Surveys and Questionnaires: Design open-ended and focused questions to collect qualitative and quantitative data. These can be distributed online or in-person depending on our target population, if you are focused on career women empowerment your means of administering survey would be way different from someone who wants to carry out women empowerment In a local community
2. Interviews: Conduct one-on-one or group interviews with community members, leaders, and relevant stakeholders.

To ensure that you get sincere responses do the following:

• They are comfortable and do not feel anxious?
• Try not to ask any leading questions.?
• Ensure there’s effective communication, and don't assume because they nod their heads you are on the same page.?
• Have a judgement-free zone and let them know you are there because you care.?

3. Focus Groups: Hold discussions with targeted groups. This will also help build relationships with community members. When those affected by an issue participate in developing a solution, they are more likely to support the work. Additionally, these discussions will give you perspectives on challenges you may not have considered before.

Example: Teenage Pregnancy & Gender-Based Violence

Direct Engagement:

• Focus Group Discussions: Holding separate discussions with teenagers (both in and out of school), parents, community leaders, and religious organisations at trusted locations like community centres or schools.
• Surveys: Distribute anonymous surveys at community events, schools, and public places to gather a wider range of perspectives.
• School Outreach Programs: Partner with schools to conduct workshops and discussions on healthy relationships, sexual health education, and reporting mechanisms for violence.

Indirect Engagement:

• Review Existing Data: Collaborate with local healthcare providers and NGOs to analyse existing data on teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.
• SMS Hotline: Text your concerns or stories to our confidential SMS hotline number (the number will be displayed on posters and radio announcements).

Remember to start with a small group, build relationships, vary your methods of collecting data, and validate your findings. It might be a strenuous process but it would save you your resources and time when you begin implementing your solution.

WHY HAVEN'T I GOTTEN YOUR STORY YET?

In the month of May, I'd be featuring Start Up Organisations and local Projects making impacts. Let me amplify your voice.

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