APS1015 Class 3: Gap Analysis within Social Systems

APS 1015: Social Entrepreneurship

Class 3: Gap Analysis within Social Systems

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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Instructors: Norm Tasevski ([email protected]) Karim Harji ([email protected])

© Norm Tasevski & Karim Harji

Agenda

•  Recap of Social Systems (Class 2) •  Guest Speaker – Andrew Reddin (Social Capital

Partners) •  Break •  Gap Analysis within Social Systems •  Next week

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Systems Mapping (Recap from Last Week)…

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Cause and Effect Chain - Example

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Poverty

Result Effect

Hunger

Cause (Proximate)

Can’t grow enough food

Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Not enough water?

Not enough labour?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

Changing rain

patterns?

No irrigation resources?

People sick?


The Vicious Circle

•  A symptom (effect) of a social condition can also be a cause, which then serves to further deepen the social condition

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Vicious Circle - Example

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Poverty

Result Effect

Hunger

Cause (Proximate)


Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Not enough water?

Not enough labour?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

Changing rain

patterns?


People sick?

Malnutrition

Poor Health

Hunger could therefore be both an effect and a cause of

poverty


Vulnerability vs. Resiliency

•  Vulnerability –  The reduced ability for elements within a system to

withstand shocks to the system –  Examples of shocks:

•  A crop failure/drought •  A health crisis/new illness

•  Resiliency –  The absence of vulnerability (i.e. the ability to absorb

shocks to a system)

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“Root Causes of Poverty” Workshop

Tabe Ere

Guest Speaker: Andrew Reddin

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Break

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Gap Analysis

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Current State & Future State

•  Current State –  The amount of “stock” between two elements in a system –  The stock is typically a measurable quantity –  Examples:

•  Amount of water behind a dam •  Level of trust in government •  Amount of money in a bank account

–  The current state can have either in an ideal level, an over-abundance or a scarcity of stock

•  Future State –  The ideal level of stock between elements in a system

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Inflows and Outflows

•  Inflows –  An increase in stock

•  Outflows –  A decrease in stock

•  Example: Soil erosion –  Excess inflow of water;

insufficient/ineffective outflow of water

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard


Correcting Loops

•  The mechanisms for controlling the inflows and outflows within a social system to maintain an ideal state

•  Correcting loops are not necessarily “visible” in a system –  Example: how do we

maintain ideal state of trust in government?

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

•  What correcting loop can we form in the system shown above?


Correcting Loops

•  The mechanisms for controlling the inflows and outflows within a social system to maintain an ideal state

•  Correcting loops are not necessarily “visible” in a system –  Example: how do we

maintain ideal state of trust in government?

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

•  What correcting loop can we form in the system shown above?

•  What is the ideal state?


Parameters

•  The considerations/factors that affect inflow and outflow

•  Example: Erosion –  Rainfall –  Soil type –  Landscape/topography –  Vegetation type –  Land management

•  Can be unchangeable or changeable

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Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

•  What parameters can be changed? What can’t be changed?


Parameters (Continued)

Parameters are one form of intervention (aka “Leverage Points”) to address gaps in a system But… …we will cover leverage points in class 4

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Gap Analysis within Systems

•  Goal: –  Identify the gaps between current state and future state to

begin to understand how to design an intervention to address the gap

•  Steps: –  Describe the current state (inflows, outflows, changeable +

non-changeable parameters) –  Describe the ideal future state (ideal inflow/outflow levels

and ideal parameters)

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Exercise

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Describe the current state in one area of this system

Poverty

Result Effect

Hunger

Cause (Proximate)


Cause (Ultimate)

Bad soil?

Soil erosion?

Not enough water?

Not enough labour?

Over-used soil?

Don’t know how to

prevent it

Rains too hard

Changing rain

patterns?


People sick?

Malnutrition

Poor Health


Another Gap Analysis Technique

•  PESTEL Analysis –  Political: The degree to which government intervenes in a

system •  E.g.: political stability, tax/education/health policies

–  Economic: The degree to which economic factors affect a system •  E.g.: economic growth, interest rates, inflation

–  Social: Cultural factors that affect a system •  E.g. attitudes toward health, career, the elderly

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PESTEL (Continued)

•  PESTEL Analysis (Continued) –  Technological: Technological factors found in a system

•  E.g.: level of R&D, level of automation –  Environmental: Ecological and environmental factors in a

system •  E.g.: weather, climate, land use/degradation

–  Legal: The man-made laws governing a system •  E.g. tax/employment/health laws, type of legal system

(e.g. civil, common, religious)

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What did we learn?

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APS1015 Class 3: Gap Analysis within Social Systems

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