Social problems are like Hydra heads: cut one off, and more appear. This is the frustrating reality that organizations in the philanthropic sector face every day. They try to solve problems to improve people’s lives, but many problems persist despite much effort and expense. Real progress seems elusive. CNN recently reported that “California has spent billions to fight homelessness. The problem has gotten worse.” Massive investments in climate solutions such as carbon markets, CO2 sequestration, and energy alternatives had no material effect on slowing global warming. The UN recently warned that our efforts are insufficient to avoid catastrophic climate change. NGOs scaled solutions to educational problems in India for decades without sufficient reading or math improvement. This led a Harvard researcher to wonder: “India: Massive Expansion in Schooling, Too Little Learning, Now What?” Current philanthropic work—as a leader of a prominent US-based foundation remarked at a recent Stanford PACS conference—leaves people exhausted. How can we break this cycle of endless problem-solving?
Read full article by Christian Seelos in Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR)
