13 Assessing the limitations of change models
Do change models centre the Global North? Do they centre organisations with lots of resources?
A model that helps you to change something will usually have some assumptions about how that thing operates in the first place. For example, many change models assume that when enough individuals change their perceptions and behaviours, a critical mass can build until bigger actors (such as community groups, civil society organisations, or loose social movements) also begin to behave differently. This in turn can begin to make leaders and policy-makers behave differently.
These assumptions are often true.
But they may be more or less true in different places, at different times, and about different issues. We recognise that these models and approaches will be more relevant or less relevant to different public interest communicators around the world.
It is also possible for things to get ‘lost in translation’ as they escalate, and it’s possible to generate unintended consequences. Leaders and policy-makers may find a way to address the changed perceptions and behaviours in ways which don’t align with your goals. Rather than listen to protest marches and change legislation in line with protestors’ demands, maybe the government of the day decides instead to outlaw a public’s right to protest. It’s worth considering these models in a way which is realistic to your environment. As public interest communicators, it’s important that we take steps to avoid doing any harm.
Perhaps another weakness of most existing change models is that they tend to be optimistic. They focus on defining a goal, and successfully delivering it. But this doesn’t reflect the full experience of many organisations, and in particular resource-constrained groups. Maybe we need more change models that support those with resource constraints in trying to change something, but also in failing in ways that are safe and do some good, even if it wasn’t what was originally intended. This is where measurement can help, as it gives us data to understand and learn from what we’ve done, but it also helps us identify weak spots. It helps us become more comfortable with analysing and learning about both the good and the bad.
