The (Still) Early Days of the Reforming Family Justice System Initiative The View From Here Mark Cabaj |April 29, 2016

­­­ Street Edmonton, Alberta, CA T5N 2W8 P: F: E: 2

The Situation The how to do it is not: you are experimenting with new (still developing) ideas and methods of change or social innovation labs. The why of trying a new approach to reforming the family justice system is clear.

Widening Our Gaze To Tackle Tough Issues The Performance Loop (The S Curve) The Renewal Loop (The Reverse S Loop) Source:

The Adaptive Cycle

Example 1: Peer Lending

watching, researching & talking with villagers in Jobra, failing forward with several small experiments

Uncovering A Pattern of System Barriers Characteristics of the Poorest of the Poor Bangladeshi Banking Patterns Require small amounts of funds Provide only larger loans IlliterateMultiple forms and applications No assetsCollateral Can only make small payments Larger lump sum payments Mostly womenPrefer to lend to men Cannot afford not to repay loans Perception of poor as high risk

Personal Loans Jobra Loan Guarantor Tangail Pilot: Peer Lending Developing a Peer Lending Model

65 programs, 27 countries Grameen II Upgrade Replication & Adaptation

Competition from other micro-lending programs DECLINE? Plateau of borrowing Delinquency on rise

neutral zone manage new engagement confusion develop & adapt birth creative * messy * uncertain* relationships * perspectives * conversations research * probes & prototypes hunches * emergence Insights, Empathy, Options entrepreneurial * adaptive * inefficient * flexible * trial & error * dead ends * variation * lag times * flexibility * tolerance for risk Effective Practice efficiency * certainty * stability * predictability * hierarchy * standardization * specialists * fast returns * low risk tolerance * rigidity High-Predictable Performance unraveling * chaotic * loss anger * blame * conflict * angst little structure or process * heavy reflection * lean on relationships * values New Energy & Hope expand possibilities & buy-in place bets refine conserve itch to proceed cope with decline

scarcity parasitic rigidity chronic disaster Navigating Traps in the Adaptive Cycle

Rigidity Traps Stuck in old thinking, patterns and institutional arrangements Can’t escape the performance engine culture and arrangements Organizational self- interest Too big (or important) to fail Unclear about options – no innovation pipeline

Chronic Disaster Traps Unable to get sufficient traction to leave the past and move forward Putting out fires People come and go The context shifts constantly Still stuck in the past

Scarcity Traps Insufficient time, energy resources to give an idea a robust birth and good start. Resources for trying something new don’t exist An excessive demand for clarity and predictability (tough in the early stages of innovation) Ideas are not compelling nor appear robust Trying to move on too many things and not investing enough in any of them

Parasitic Traps The innovation is parasitic on the host(s) that gave it birth and nurtured it in the early years. The innovators Flexibility of development phase Experimental resources (aka “pilot project junkies”) Works in unique context, time or scale

BC Family Justice Lab ( ) Edmonton Region Supported Independent Living Lab ( ) Toronto Housing Action Lab ( ) Alberta Energy Future Lab ( ) A Glance At the Progress of Other Canadian Labs

scarcity parasitic rigidity chronic disaster Where is RFJS on the adaptive cycle? What traps are its members navigating?

1.An innovator willing to help build a RFJS with all its challenges, risk and tough environment. 2.An early adopter keen to proceed once the practice and results are more clear. 3.A prospective early/late majority that is open to this approach, but will wait until the evidence, practice and ecology for the work are firmly established. 4.A skeptic that would prefer overwhelming evidences to be convinced or has a ‘funny feeling’ about this.