Synergos Case Study
Painting The Picture
partnerships
We are extremely proud to have played a small part in helping the organisation to strengthen its already extensive network and further its visionary purpose to overcome the challenges of poverty and injustice. As a not-for-profit organisation working in support of some of the world’s most wicked problems, Synergos is a good illustration of the kind of client that we are especially keen to help. Its whole ethos and commitment to fundamental change resonate perfectly with our own philosophy and new ways of working – themselves constantly evolving as we put into practice what we learn from each programme of work and from every new client. In this instance we were introduced to the Synergos team by a philanthropically minded partner on the organisation’s Board. Synergos celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2012, an appropriate moment therefore to look back at how far the organisation had travelled since the early days, and to renew and refocus its work towards a fairer and more equitable world.
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Our intervention was an opportunity for Synergos to explain clearly to the Board their direction and focus and where they intended to put their efforts before raising more funds or detailed project planning. The business ambition is all about supporting and creating ‘change makers’ – thousands of able and empowered leaders all over the world contributing to the causes that are most worthy and acting as catalysts for change within their community. As in all our work we made no assumptions ahead of the session.
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We live in dynamic times. Never before has the expression ‘global’ been more relevant. There are constantly shifting global dynamics that create ripple effects across cultures and geographies and can aid or block progress in any programme or initiative. This global ‘platform’ is now more connected than ever before and its movements are highly visible to anyone who has the interest and motivation to explore, challenge, expose or promote. Add to this the many agendas and demands on people’s time and resources. Many voices crying to be heard, many worthy causes and all influenced by multiple perspectives and the ability to get a compelling message across – to grab attention. Even those that do make it onto the public stage will often be thwarted by the crises that confront us daily and all in a climate of severe financial pressure that increases the demand for careful stewardship of precious funds.
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Organisations working to address any of today’s wicked problems – from poverty and global climate change, through natural hazards, pandemic influenza and international drug/ human trafficking, to nuclear waste and social injustice – face particular challenges because wicked problems by their very nature defy definitive formulation. This is because they are inherently complex with multiple, frequently
entangled causes so experience cannot help in the way it would if addressing an ordinary problem. It’s impossible therefore to generate the well-described set of permissible operations that might in the ‘normal’ scheme of things be incorporated into a plan of action. Each wicked problem also involves many stakeholders, who all have different ideas about what the trouble really is and what its
causes are. Which in turn can lead to conflicts of interest or agendas, misunderstandings and a sense of “So where do you go from here?”
will be held liable for the consequences of any of their actions by virtue of the fact these have such wide impact and can be hard to justify.)
Though victories may be many, they’re often insignificant when looked at in the context of the bigger picture which can lead to demotivation and discouragement among problems solvers who are already under pressure. (And who in addition cannot afford to be wrong since they
And because solutions to wicked problems involve chains of events and multiple interventions it is difficult to measure their effectiveness.
overcoming poverty partnerships
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partnerships
“The capacity
to discern the true nature of a situation – penetration; the act or outcome of grasping – intuitively perceiving – the inward or hidden nature of things.”
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Knowing how to measure the value or effectiveness of their actions is one of the issues that arose during our work with Synergos. It’s a challenge common to most people and organisations tackling wicked problems due to the collaborative /co-operative /partnership nature of much of the work. We’ve come up against it in almost every intervention of this kind that we’ve undertaken and have begun to develop a point of view about thinking differently in the way we measure value and impact. Synergos for example doesn’t directly address the systemic causes of poverty and inequity but rather works to inspire, build and support inclusive partnerships and networks that operate; in the field (current projects include initiatives in Southern Africa, India, Middle East, Canada, Brazil and Ethiopia). A large part of the organisation’s mission is directed towards building bridges, be that training individuals to become bridging leaders or bringing together a number of stakeholders – from NGOs, humanitarian organisations and small charities to directly or indirectly concerned parties with conflicting interests.
Connects people to their core values and engages in change processes in ways that inspire trust and make meaningful collaboration possible. Provides learning about “bridging leadership,” the capacity to make it possible for people to come together across divides and work as partners. Creates and supports inclusive collaborations that involve and respect the contributions of all key stakeholders, identify root causes and develop innovations that solve complex problems. Focuses attention on systems thinking, seeking significant, systemic changes and supporting the leadership, coordinating mechanisms and institutional arrangements needed for the change to be sustained over time.
In this environment – one where involvement and participation can show up in numerous ways – it’s not always easy to show where value comes from and to prove the impact caused by a specific programme or way of approaching a problem. Impact shows up from direct and indirect contribution in ways other than the eradication of poverty. Measurement means the intangibles as well as the tangibles. Sometimes there are significant outcomes on the way that merit attention and teach us lessons.
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A quest is an adventure that starts with a purpose – a strong and wholehearted belief in the achievement of something, which in the case of Synergos is the fight against poverty and inequity. There are now many examples of the power of our connected global stage and huge change can be driven by civil society, especially when as now it is leading the charge for creating greater meaning and purpose in decisions and policies. Practices and behaviours of the past are being exposed for what they are and it’s no longer good enough simply to ‘tick the box’ when it comes to development action. There have to be real and meaningful responses to these challenges. One example of how Synergos works is through its Global Philanthropists Circle. This is a dynamic network of leading philanthropic families from across the world committed to using their time, influence and resources to make lasting change in the lives of poor and marginalised people. At the same time the organisation helps donors to become more effective social investors by offering opportunities for learning and collaboration. Unlike any other philanthropic forum, the GPC allows members to learn from their peers and forge new relationships that can dramatically move their work forward.
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partnerships
overcoming poverty
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partnerships
overcoming poverty
Yet as with any quest, there are always questions. How to avoid reinventing the wheel? How to leverage the great insights and experiences and capitalise on the success of others? And how to make sure that we apply these insights and lessons in the most appropriate way in the context and dynamics we are dealing with? This is the Holy Grail and a significant driver for the future. Not just regarding the programmes directly led by Synergos, but for all of their network – partners and alliances – a network of change makers all working in the most effective way possible. The Synergos approach works from within communities so that the needed change can be sustained. Its value is supported by evidence and results that sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly demonstrate the impact made at each step towards this paradigm shift. The organisation has a Body of Practice that is underpinned by some fundamental principles that ensure that changes are lasting – not short term with less desirable consequences. Synergos also has a belief system that is dynamic and flexible so that it can work in the real world in the best way possible in any context.
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Using its capacity to bring people together across divides, whether they are inside or outside of existing circles, Synergos creates bridges to connect things that need to be connected. Context and experience makes all the difference so aggressive sharing of the approach – techniques and practices plus the real cases of creating impact – is a vital part of achieving their vision and outcomes. This includes both tools and stories – in short anything that would be helpful to others tackling similar challenges. By demonstrating the impact of the organisation’s Body of Practice and values, Synergos wishes to inspire others to take similar actions. Their firm belief that this is the most powerful way to bring about lasting change is based on evidence that shows this ‘on the ground’ practice creates the best effects and impacts and therefore should be used more widely in influencing anti-poverty strategies.
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partnerships
overcoming poverty
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Synergos believes that collaborations involving business, government, civil society and communities are essential to overcoming complex economic and social deficits in a way that achieves lasting change. This includes tapping into the wisdom and amplifying the voices of those who are poor and marginalised. The challenges posed by poverty and inequity around the world are too complex and big to be addressed by a single organisation however large or experienced. Creating solutions and scaling what works requires collaboration: creatively combining the resources of government, the market knowledge of corporations, the social connection of civil society and the participation of communities.Yet such collaboration is neither easy nor commonplace. In working with leaders, leadership networks, institutions and partnerships Synergos does not impose a particular set of fixed ideas about how best to solve problems, preferring instead to work to enable those most directly involved to generate, test and implement innovative and lasting changes.
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Perhaps one of the most enabling elements of our intervention was helping Synergos to ‘see itself’. They already had a clear purpose and mission but we were able to help join up some of the dots in ways that linked not just stakeholders, partners and collaborators in the widest sense but also the major themes and thrusts of Synergos’ work.
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partnerships
overcoming poverty
Making visible links between apparently disparate parts of an organisation is something that we’re very practised at. For the client team this can be a real eyeopener, especially in a case such as this where the organisation needs to get its story, a clear sense of the evolving breadth of its work, across to all the many people with whom it comes into contact. Although we were unable in session to fill in all the details, the framework we created in the short time we had together has given Synergos a firm basis on which to build a riveting story. Unfortunately, and with all credit to the dedicated, passionate and committed Synergos team, unlike some stories with their beginning, middle and end, there’s still a long way to go before we put an end to poverty and inequity.
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Synergos September 2013 Group Partners
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