Our Approach to Design

Impact comes from people doing something differently – from a change in behavior. Our approach to design centers on an understanding of the impact you want, the behavior that creates it, and a distinct idea about how to drive that behavior. From that starting point, Fellows use our template and tools to formulate an impact model, the detailed, systematic process that applies the idea. A set of empirical scalability criteria is used to shape and tune a detailed impact model, which then allows the design of the organizational and financial models to deliver it. A process of adaptive redesign at regular intervals drives an ongoing integration of new information into both models and operations.

Real Impact

The notion of real impact is at the center of everything we do. Everyone’s got their own definition of impact and here’s ours: impact is a change in the state of the world brought about by an intervention. It’s the final result of behaviors (outcomes) that are generated by activities (outputs) that are driven by resources (inputs). To know if you have real impact, you need to:

• Articulate the mission, what you’re setting out to accomplish (we describe the mission in eight words or less, including a target population, a verb, and something to measure)
• Pick the right indicator(s), the thing that really captures the mission
• Get real numbers, i.e. get baseline and end data and ensure the right sampling/counting techniques and sample size
• Assure attribution: make the case for what would have happened without you - compare to something, using matched controls or even randomization if need be

Scaleability

We use five traits of scalable solutions to drive and shape the design of the impact model. These are:

• Real impact. Solutions without real impact shouldn’t scale
• Cost-effectiveness. Solutions that are too expensive won’t scale
• Sustained behavior. Impact won’t last without the right incentives and systems in place
• “Replicability.” Solutions have to be simple, systematic, and broadly adaptable to be replicated at scale.
• A viable path to scale. A solution has to be designed to go to scale via one or some combination of these routes, each with their own strengths and flaws:
• The market
• Governments
• Growing a very big organization
• Co-opting other NGO’s
• Viral behavior spread

Happiness

The notion of happiness seems kind of touchy-feely, but there is a growing body of quality research about what makes people happy, and solutions that leave people happier work better and last longer. We use a set of themes that cut across cultures as an additional tool to shape design. These include:

• Security. People are chronically anxious and unhappy if their basic needs of food, safety, shelter, health care, etc are not met in a way they can count on.
• Prospects. Incremental, empowering progress that creates confidence in the future is far better than rapid change without follow-up.
• Equity. We are wired to detect unfairness and we are miserable if we perceive ourselves as falling behind.
• Avoidance of loss. The pain of loss resonates far longer and deeper than the joy of gain.
• More and stronger social bonds. We’re a social species – solutions that create strong bonds between people leave them more happy and content.

Design Template

Download Design Iteration Format (DIF)

The first thing the Fellows do is to put their idea into a template that will serve as a vehicle for initial design and interval re-design. The template (known as the Design Iteration Format, or DIF) takes the user through a series of steps to a detailed impact model, and then serves as the vehicle of an ongoing process of iterative redesign. While focused on the impact model, the DIF also helps Fellows work through the organizational and financial models – how to deliver the impact model and how to pay for it. Once the initial formatting is completed, Fellows work directly with staff at six-month intervals to incorporate new information, lessons, and ideas into their formatted designs.