“Do Good. Better.” video

Sep 6, 2024

Doing Good Better: Understanding Social Impact

Introduction

  • Instinct to Do Good: Natural human desire to help others (making sad people happy, sick people healthy, etc.).
  • Challenge: Often lack the knowledge on how to help effectively.
  • Learning to Do Good: Helping skills can be developed and improved.

Importance of Doing Good Better

  • Common Scenario: Misguided attempts at helping (e.g., sending unusable old clothes to refugees).
  • Global and Local Impact: Applies to personal interactions and global issues like poverty, climate, etc.
  • Changemakers: Need for individuals and organizations to tackle complex problems.

Key Concepts

  • Social Impact: Defined as improving well-being and enhancing productive life capabilities (Sir Ronald Cohen).
  • Ballard Center for Social Impact: 20+ years of developing social impact principles.

Reflection on Efforts

  • Not All Help is Helpful: Importance of evaluating the effectiveness of social efforts.

Examples of Misguided Help

Bangladesh Water Wells

  • 1970s Initiative: Non-profits dug wells without testing for arsenic contamination.
  • Outcome: Arsenic poisoning affecting millions, causing severe health issues.
  • Lesson: Importance of thorough investigation and measuring results.

Kenya Water Wells

  • Situation: Organizations digging wells without considering long-term maintenance.
  • Statistics: 50,000 water points failed, costing $250 million.
  • Health Impact: Significant health issues due to contaminated water.

Learning from Mistakes

  • Water for People: Transitioned from ineffective one-off projects to sustainable solutions.
  • Focus: Building long-term relationships, transparency, and community ownership.

Categories of Social Impact Groups

  1. Worst-case Scenario: Harmful due to lack of understanding (e.g., Bangladesh wells).
  2. Good but Inadequate: Some good done but without deep understanding (e.g., African wells).
  3. Do Good Better Philosophy: Effective research and collaboration for sustainable solutions.

Water for People's Approach

  • Three Key Changes:
    1. Honest evaluation and commitment to change.
    2. Focused efforts where impact is feasible.
    3. Involving affected communities as stewards and owners.

Conclusion

  • Key Lessons:
    • Sustainable solutions require collaboration and community involvement.
    • Importance of research and understanding problems deeply.
  • Call to Action: Join the community of changemakers and subscribe for more resources.