How social entrepreneurship can contribute to upscale social innovation practices?

In this paper, we address the research question of to what extent is it possible to discern theories of change being built into the business practices of nascent social enterprises in ways that lay foundations for the subsequent upscaling of their social innovations? We argue that social enterprises that are ‘ready-to-upscale’ are those that clearly produce a solution to an underlying problem, and where their activities are clearly derived from the underlying problem, and also those activities clearly connect forward to deliver consistent solutions. We apply a Theories of Change approach to the concept of social entrepreneurship as a means of setting a criterion for ‘ready-to-upscale’, studying six Sri Lankan micro-social enterprises in which we can trace stories of impact. This provides a means to develop a model of the ways that social entrepreneurship creates the foundations for structural changes that reduce systematic inequalities, and offers social enterprise funders a framework to better stimulate emergence of social enterprises ready-to-upscale and deliver social innovation.

Theories of Change and Mediators of Psychotherapy Effectiveness in Adolescents With Externalising Behaviours: A Systematic Review

BackgroundExternalising behaviours are becoming a remarkably prevalent problem during adolescence, often precipitating both externalising and internalising disorders in later adulthood. Psychological treatments aim to increase the social functioning of adolescents in order for them to live a more balanced life and prevent these negative trajectories. However, little is known of the intervening variables and mediators involved in these treatments' change mechanisms. We conducted a systematic review, exploring the available evidence on mediators of psychological treatments for externalising behaviours and symptoms amongst adolescents (10 to 19 years old).MethodsA systematic search was performed on Medline and PsycINFO databases, which identified studies from inception to February 23, 2020. Eligible studies included randomised controlled trials that enrolled adolescents with externalising symptoms and behaviours as, at least, one of the primary outcomes. A group of 20 reviewers from the COST-Action TREATme (CA16102) were divided into 10 pairs. Each pair independently screened studies for inclusion, extracted information from the included studies, and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies and the requirements for mediators, following Kazdin's criteria. Risk of bias of RCTs was assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Extracted data from the included studies were reported using a narrative synthesis.ResultsFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PRISMA), after removing duplicates, 3,660 articles were screened. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. In a second stage, 965 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. A total of 14 studies fulfilled all inclusion criteria. The majority were related to systemic psychological treatment approaches. Two types of mediators were identified as potentially being involved in the mechanisms of change for better social improvements of adolescents: to increase healthier parent–adolescent relationships and parental discipline. However, there were significant and non-significant results amongst the same mediators, which led to discussing the results tentatively.ConclusionsFamily variables were found to be the largest group of investigated mediators, followed by relational, behavioural, and emotional variables. No cognitive or treatment-specific mediators were identified. Both adequate behavioural control of adolescents' peer behaviour and a better positive balance in their relationships with their parents seemed to buffer the effects of externalising behaviours in adolescents. Several methodological limitations concerning mediation testing design, outcome measures, and mediator selection have been identified.Ethics and DisseminationEthical approval was not required. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021231835.

Getting Real about Unknowns in Complex Policy Work

As with all public policy work, education policies are demanding. Policy workers need to ‘know’ a lot—about the problems they are addressing, the people who need to be engaged, the promises they can make in response, the context they are working in, and the processes they will follow to implement. Most policy workers answer questions about such issues within the structures of plan and control processes used to devise budgets and projects. These structures limit their knowledge gathering, organization and sense-making activities to up-front planning activities, and even though sophisticated tools like Theories of Change suggest planners ‘know’ all that is needed for policy success, they often do not. Policies are often fraught with ‘unknowns’ that cannot be captured in passive planning processes and thus repeatedly undermine even the best laid plans. Through a novel strategy that asks how much one knows about the answers to 25 essential policy questions, and an application to recent education policy interventions in Mozambique, this paper shows that it is possible to get real about unknowns in policy work. Just recognizing these unknowns exist—and understanding why they do and what kind of challenge they pose to policy workers—can help promote a more modest and realistic approach to doing complex policy work.

Moving at the Speed of Trust: Radical and Progressive Change through Climate Justice Movements in Aotearoa

<p>Human-induced climate change is already having an acute impact on many lives and livelihoods. This is expected to escalate, especially for “disadvantaged people and communities in countries at all levels of development” (Pachauri et al., 2014, p. 13). This thesis is situated within post- and critical development, enabling critique of mainstream development alongside the exploration of alternative, bottom-up forms of development, such as social movements. Following a social constructionist epistemology, it utilises qualitative methodologies (in-person and virtual in-depth interviews) to navigate the complex, fluid, and subjective field of climate justice. This research situates the emerging climate justice movements in Aotearoa as key to understanding how radical, progressive societal change is articulated in the contemporary era to mitigate and adapt to anthropogenic climate change. Several core themes emerge as part of the research, including how various actors (organisations, sub-movements, and individuals) relate to each other and the world around them. This research asks and addresses not only what climate justice is in Aotearoa and who is involved, but also which theories of change operate within these emerging social movements? The data in this research outlines that climate justice movements in Aotearoa are accessible, inclusive, relational, accountable and frontline community-led, the antithesis of the current dominant structures and systems of society. These movements build upon other rights and justice movements, notably: Indigenous justice, disability justice, intersectional feminism, workers’ rights, and intergenerational justice. The development and negotiation of a collective climate justice identity is shaped by several interconnected tensions: partisanship versus non-partisanship, internal conformity versus diversity, and ecosystem versus ‘egosystem’. These tensions can also impede connection and understanding, at times leading to substantial harm to individuals, communities, and climate justice more broadly. This thesis outlines multiple forces shaping the actualisation of justice in an Aotearoa experiencing climate change. Fundamentally, this thesis highlights that climate justice is an ongoing journey of relationships and negotiations that “move at the speed of trust”.</p>

Moving at the Speed of Trust: Radical and Progressive Change through Climate Justice Movements in Aotearoa

<p>Human-induced climate change is already having an acute impact on many lives and livelihoods. This is expected to escalate, especially for “disadvantaged people and communities in countries at all levels of development” (Pachauri et al., 2014, p. 13). This thesis is situated within post- and critical development, enabling critique of mainstream development alongside the exploration of alternative, bottom-up forms of development, such as social movements. Following a social constructionist epistemology, it utilises qualitative methodologies (in-person and virtual in-depth interviews) to navigate the complex, fluid, and subjective field of climate justice. This research situates the emerging climate justice movements in Aotearoa as key to understanding how radical, progressive societal change is articulated in the contemporary era to mitigate and adapt to anthropogenic climate change. Several core themes emerge as part of the research, including how various actors (organisations, sub-movements, and individuals) relate to each other and the world around them. This research asks and addresses not only what climate justice is in Aotearoa and who is involved, but also which theories of change operate within these emerging social movements? The data in this research outlines that climate justice movements in Aotearoa are accessible, inclusive, relational, accountable and frontline community-led, the antithesis of the current dominant structures and systems of society. These movements build upon other rights and justice movements, notably: Indigenous justice, disability justice, intersectional feminism, workers’ rights, and intergenerational justice. The development and negotiation of a collective climate justice identity is shaped by several interconnected tensions: partisanship versus non-partisanship, internal conformity versus diversity, and ecosystem versus ‘egosystem’. These tensions can also impede connection and understanding, at times leading to substantial harm to individuals, communities, and climate justice more broadly. This thesis outlines multiple forces shaping the actualisation of justice in an Aotearoa experiencing climate change. Fundamentally, this thesis highlights that climate justice is an ongoing journey of relationships and negotiations that “move at the speed of trust”.</p>

Mapping the movement for climate change and health in England: a descriptive review and theory of change analysis

Aims: There are a growing number of organisations working to address the connections between climate change and health. This article introduces the concept of ‘theories of change’ – the methodology by which organisations or movements hope to bring about social change – and applies it to the current climate change and health movement in England. Through movement mapping, the article describes and offers reflections on the climate change and health ecosystems in England. Methods: Organisations working on climate change and health in England were identified and publicly available information was collated to map movement characteristics, target stakeholders and methodologies deployed, using an inductive, iterative approach. Results: A total of 98 organisations working on health and climate change (and/or sustainability) were initially identified, of which 70 met the inclusion criteria. Most organisations target two or more stakeholders, with healthcare workers, management structures, and government being most commonly cited. Methodological approaches identified include Formal education programmes; Awareness-raising; Purchasing-procurement power; Advocacy; Financial; Media-messaging; Networking; Knowledge generation; and Policy making, of which education, awareness-raising, and advocacy are most commonly used. Conclusion: There is a tendency for climate change and health organisations in England to focus on individual level and sectoral change over system change. More could be made of the potential for the healthcare professions’ voice and messaging for the wider climate movement. Given the rapid boom of climate change and health organisations in recent years, a mind-set shift that recognises different players as part of a cohesive ecosystem with better coordination and collaboration may reduce unnecessary work, and facilitate more cohesive outcomes.