The CEP Blog
Let's say your new job is to help give away money in order to solve complex problems such as climate change or poverty. To protect biodiversity in the Rockies. Or to reduce infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. How do you go about doing that? These days, you might search for some innovative program that you could bring to scale. A Big Idea that would create measureable impact.
A typical search for a Big Idea might involve months of intense research, consultations with experts, and in-depth analysis by senior staff. The result might be a detailed strategic plan—pages of PowerPoint slides, Gantt charts, and logic models—all intended to show how your outputs and outcomes will invariably lead to your desired impact.
Of course, this approach assumes your organization can muster the requisite insight and understanding to build the Big Idea—and that your grantees and beneficiaries will act the way you think they will act once millions of grant dollars are unleashed. But what if that doesn't happen? And what if your resources are modest compared to the problem at hand? Do you still have the ability to contribute to a breakthrough?
Entrepreneur and author
Peter Sims would say "yes."
