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This is obviously a big one, as noted by David Brooks in his insightful column in the NYT on social entrepreneurship. We have seen, for example, in the provision of electricity in Brazil, that Fabio Rosa was able to work on the sub-regional scale, but faced institutional and political barriers as he began to scale up. If we are embracing a broad model of social change that includes a large place for agency by social entreprenuurs, can we begin to generalize about scaling up?
As you prepare some ideas and answers for Thursday, consider the following sources:
- Chapter 11 in Power to the People: Micropower meets Village Power
- The plethora of websites online about social entrepreneurship
- Data on energy production worldwide: IEA.ORG, for starters ...
And as you study this for the energy sector, think how their our similar -- and contrasting -- lessons for the sectors that you are studying.
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If we discuss strategies of scaling up, I think the most critical component is that the initiative must be framed as a MODEL with the potential for straight forward replication in other locales. Of course we have discussed the idea of metis a million times over and the need to create locally and culturally-suitable projects. But overall, if an entrepreneur is hoping to take a project "to the next level," there's a critical need to have enough flexibility in the project plans such that the ideas can easily be transferred to other communities with relative ease. It's the difference, for example, between designing a water pump intended to bring clean water to a community of 500 people versus providing access to clean water on a country-wide basis. Another important facet to consider in the question of scalability is that of ACCOUNTABILITY and ASSESSMENT. The project must have closely defined, measurable targets that allow the entrepreneur to evaluate the program's success across disparate communities and countries. For example, Kiva.org has created a country-specific poverty score card that each borrower completes before and after the loan period. This enables Kiva to determine the extent to which the loan has impacted the borrower's level of poverty. In India, a question on the score card might ask: "Do you own a pressure cooker: Yes/No?" In South Africa, one question might be: "Is your roof of your house corrugated tin: Yes/No?"
There's an other huge aspect of accountability, of course, that relates to scaling up: the accountability of government officials who, under the right circumstances, can facilitate and help to replicate the work of social entrepreneurs. Take what is documented in Power to the People: the descriptions of corruption in India, in terms of energy provision, and compare that to Fabio Rosa's experiences in Brazil. Albert Hirschman has a phrase that captures what is required: 'voice and exit.' More on that to come ..
Response by Cameron, Maggie, Matt, & Philip
=Scaling up=
- Scale (obviously) varies by area, by region, by country; tie suitability to local conditions, including population density and demand for energy
- Change happens gradually, intentionally, and with local input
=Specific Topics=
- Land degradation: basic principles and best practices: limit deforestation, prevent government subsides for over-use,
- Urbanization: ensure wise use (efficiency)
Question: Effect of hydrogen on water scarcity
Additions to above:
Urban / rural void
With larger power source and user-shed (service area), greater need for reliability
Text messages: how much power used, when generator will be on
Accountability, billing tied to cell phones
Matt: democratic, trust relationship between provider and consumer
Efficiency
Cameron: “scale up by starting at the bottom”