Beyond the band-aid: Collaborating with nonprofits towards second-order change
By Annalise Tolley
Many of us have been here: Enjoying our spring, taking in the beautiful blue skies–pleasantly surprised that our Benadryl has kept the pollen symptoms at bay–when we see it. There in the garden, getting cozy with the things we actually planted, sprouting tall in defiance, are those pesky weeds. As we enter the woodshed to prepare for our faceoff, we have two options:
- Use the weedwacker
- Use the weeding fork
The weedwacker is an enticing option. It solves the eye sore problem without nearly as much effort, though the satisfaction may be short-lived. Weeds tend to quickly pop up again in the same spot. On the other hand, the weeding fork extracts the weed at its roots. We’ll have to get our hands dirty and it’ll take all afternoon, but at least it won’t pop up again in the same spot. Not to mention, removing weeds now gives the rest of our garden a better chance to thrive. But do we have the time and the tools to make this happen?
This gardening conundrum demonstrates the first-order versus second-order-change decision nonprofits make daily.
Do we invest our resources in providing the visible, immediate relief needed by so many of our community members (first-order change), or do we focus on the slow, painstaking process of uprooting the under-the-surface problems–such as inaccessible and unfair systems–for future generations to thrive (second-order change)? The answer to both questions is yes – but our nonprofits often must choose how to spend limited resources and focus what they have on first-order change.
First-order changes are sometimes called “band-aid solutions” to describe how they are applied at surface level to stop bleeding without changing the unsafe conditions that produced the cut. While first-order change programs such as food pantries, rental assistance, financial literacy and cognitive behavioral therapy are all critically important, nonprofits must consider second-order change programs as well. Why are families unable to put food on the table? Why is a single household income not enough to make ends meet in many cases? Why is the minimum wage so low? Why are certain people more likely to work minimum wage-earning jobs than others? Asking questions like these, which serve to peel back the layers of social problems, is part of root cause analysis.
Root cause analysis is an approach to thinking and problem solving that seeks to uncover the sources of problems by asking why something occurs. This knowledge can then be used to create second-order change by preventing problems upstream rather than only treating them downstream. This approach is more sustainable than repeatedly applying first-order solutions. This is not to say that we should abandon first-order change. We must address crisis situations and ensure that our neighbors today have the necessary tools for success. However, helping neighbors today cannot overshadow the need to better serve people tomorrow.
Unfortunately, while many nonprofit leaders and staff are thinking about these second-order questions, they have insufficient resources to do much about it and are often not incentivized to dig into root causes. Many funding programs focus on immediate needs and fund ideas and initiatives for only a short time. Nonprofit leaders are left to braid together multiple sources of funding, and direct service staff must become scrappy to ensure that the needs of those they serve are being met. Second-order change requires a different kind of investment.
Second-order change is not the default way of thinking about social change in the United States – despite constant pressure for nonprofits to demonstrate sustainability. Fortunately, the Charlotte Urban Institute’s Impact, Data and Evaluation Academy, also known as IDEA, is here to help. This quarter, we’re introducing a new tool to assist nonprofits in thinking about the root cause of the social problem they are working to reduce, and those interested in taking their learning to the next level can meet with one of our evaluation experts for a free consultation during our office hours.
Sign up for Root Cause Analysis office hours here.
Want to learn more about IDEA and how it can build the capacity of local nonprofits to collect, manage and evaluate data? Check us out here and subscribe to our newsletter.