The Transferability Problem

How should we navigate the delicate interplay between crafting novel policies and spearheading mission-oriented ventures in a world teeming with grand challenges?

We look for transferable ideas and methods to experiment and see if that particular idea or method works in a different environment.

Therefore, the essence of this inquiry lies not just in the generation of ideas but in their transferability across the varied tapestry of human context. Imagine a scenario where a particular approach or technology achieves its intended outcome within a specific locale or situation. T

The pivotal question then becomes: What mechanisms or principles can guide us in assessing whether this success is replicable in alternate environments or under distinct conditions?

Based on this conceptual report by the International Public Policy Observatory, determining the transferability of models and ideas needs a more straightforward formula. The proposed approach in the report emphasises asking four critical questions to evaluate a promising idea's potential for adaptation across contexts: (Source: Professor Geoff Mulgan)

1. Spread: Has the idea been successfully applied in various contexts?
2. Essentials: Are the key factors that ensure its effectiveness known?
3. Ease: What is the ease of adapting or adopting the idea, and how many adjustments are required for successful implementation?
4. Relevance: How closely does the evidence context match the new context of the application?

This framework is a caution against the simplistic transplanting of ideas and motivation to seek out and adapt valuable concepts. The conclusion advocates for a societal and governmental mindset open to learning and adopting external ideas, highlighting the importance of institutions skilled in disseminating, adopting, and adapting ideas alongside fostering innovation.

This query is paramount to those juxtaposing mission-driven policies and eyeing collective impacts aimed at the grand challenges of our era and working on new missions (design or delivery).

Example 1: consider the spectrum of actors involved: environmental entities championing sustainable practices across disparate ecosystems to health organisations striving to transpose successful public health tactics amidst diverse cultural and economic landscapes.

Example 2: educational institutions are endeavouring to duplicate effective pedagogical techniques across geographies and to tech ventures committed to democratising breakthrough access.

Grasping the levers that either facilitate or impede the portability of solutions is critical in crafting flexible and enduring strategies. As nations around the globe construct their Mission Playbooks, the aim is to orchestrate a symphony of policy design, implementation, delivery, and evaluation worldwide. This orchestration seeks to harmonise the diverse interests of stakeholders, guiding them towards a unified directionality in the quest to transcend mere innovation and achieve transformative impact. It applied to academia in studying missions, individuals creating mission-led ventures, or corporations and governments streamlining their procurement policies to be mission-led.

So, where does one start on missions?

To help you digest the various Mission Playbooks and learn ideas and their methods, I have created a MissionGPT to query multiple questions you might have for Playbooks. MissionGPT is a custom GPT built on GPT-4 trained on various mission playbooks and literature on the design and delivery of missions.

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https://chat.openai.com/g/g-pxhnp8FgG-missiongpt

Source: Algorithm training literature was sourced from UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (Mariana Mazzucato, Rainer Kattel), Vinnova (Dan Hill), CSIRO (Alex Cooke, Amelia Olsen-Boyd and others), to name a few