1 D OMINOES OR P ICK -U P S TICKS ? Philanthropy, Evaluation and Social Change American Evaluation Association Nov. 14, 2009 John Bare Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

2 The Driving Force Behind Social Change: Dissatisfaction Are you satisfied with the status quo? What must change for you to become satisfied?

Social Change (Getting to Maybe, “I Have A Dream”) Evaluation & Learning vs. Auditing & Compliance Accountability (Cost Accounting Standards, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act and the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993)

4 Heroes of Social Change

5 Can Anything Slow Our Hero Now?

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7 Annual "Accountability" and "Social Change" Mentions in the NYT,

8 Sept. 8, 1993 Getting to Maybe

9 Navigating a Paradox Our only hope for doing well rests on rewarding news about and solutions for whatever it is we’re doing poorly. … … Yet individual and organizational incentives reward a lack of honesty and candor.

10 Tools for Social Change Risk Analysis Michael Patton’s Systems Approach (“Getting to Maybe”) Feedback Loops Testing Assumptions Daniel Kahneman’s “Outside View” Karl Weick’s “Sensemaking” Game Theory Scenario Planning Documentary Methods Social Network Analysis Reflective Practice

11 Modeling Social Change Change = Dissatisfaction * Vision * Process or C = D * V * P Adapted from Bob Bontempo, Columbia University Business School

12 Social Change: A Case Study

13 Dissatisfaction White America was profoundly aroused by Birmingham because it witnessed the whole community of Negroes facing terror and brutality with majestic scorn and heroic courage. - MLK, March 25, 1965 (Montgomery)

14 Dissatisfaction

15 LBJ: March 15, 1965 But even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over.... Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.

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