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A plan gets approved. Two years later, the problem it was designed to solve is still there. The project report is complete. The indicators were met. But on the ground, not much has changed. This is not rare. It is, in fact, quite common. The question worth asking is why. The Way We Usually Plan Linear thinking is not a mistake. It is how most of us were taught to think: find the cause, remove it, observe the result. It works in bounded, stable systems, like a machine with a f

In the social impact space, we care deeply about solutions. Programmes. Frameworks. Toolkits. Pilots. Scaling plans. They give us direction. They give us legitimacy. They give us something tangible to build around, something teams can rally behind, partners can support, and reports can confidently describe. And yet, many of us have also experienced moments like this: A project that looks strong on paper but feels different in practice. An intervention that technically “works,

In the social impact sector, we are often rewarded for knowing where we are going. Proposals have clear destinations. Programmes have milestones. Reports describe progress toward a goal that was defined, often, before we fully understood the territory we were entering. And so we start walking. Quickly. With conviction. And yet, many of us have also stood in a community meeting or a review call and felt a quiet discomfort. The programme is running. The numbers are reasonable.