Scaling Capacities:

Supports for Growing

Impact
Topic: Expanding Social Impact
ABSTRACT

 This paper presents findings from original case study research that identified
seven organizational capacities critical to the scaling process of social
entrepreneurships.
(1) Mission—defining and adhering to core mission;
(2) Structure—balancing control and flexibility in the organizational structure;
(3) Model—codifying what works in the core model;
(4) Culture—cultivating and perpetuating organizational culture;
(5) Data—collecting and using data;
(6) Resources—connecting fundraising to mission and expanding the resource
base; and
(7) Leadership and Governance—making the right decisions for scaling to foster
and manage growth
RESEARCHMETHODS

LFA conducted the following research for this paper:

 Case studies of 28 social entrepreneurships that have scaled to a national or
international level
 Examination of over 350 pieces of primary and secondary literature on the
case study organizations
 More than 50 interviews with founders and staff of case study organizations
 A review of literature on social entrepreneurship, the scaling process and
organizational effectiveness
 Interviews with fi eld thought leaders
DEFINING KEY TERMS
 We use the term social entrepreneurships to refer to organizations that
“create innovative solutions to immediate social problems and mobilize ideas,
capacities, resources, and social arrangements required for sustainable social
transformation.
 The primary purpose of scaling is to grow social impact to better match the
magnitude of the need or problem a social entrepreneurship seeks to address,
by increasing the breadth of impact (e.g., number of people served) and/or
depth of impact (e.g., number or quality of services provided)
 Scaling can take many forms. Opening new branches or sites was the most
common form of scaling among organizations studied for this report, and
hence the form most, though not exclusively, discussed in these pages.
Additional ways to scale include forming affi liations and disseminating
information and technical assistance, among other strategies
The Seven Scaling Capacities
Scaling capacity 1 : MISSION
 Defining and Adhering to Core Mission. Clearly defining and adhering to the
mission provides focus for decision-making and resource deployment during
the scaling process.
 Mission clarity and focus are first and formost the responsibility of the
governing body and staff leadership.
 Saying “No” can be the most strategic decision.
 With the mission as the guidepost, strategies for its achievement can be
adapted based on new information, settings, populations, or other changes in
context
Scaling capacity 2 : Structure
 Balancing Control and Flexibility. Scaling, particularly when it entails
organizational expansion, places great challenges on organizational and
management structures. The challenge is to balance control with flexibility
for innovation and impact
 Scaling, particularly when it entails organizational expansion, places great
strain on organizational and management structures. At tension are the dual
needs of control and flexibility in the relationship between local
offices/affiliates and the central office.
 Effective communication of successful strategies and lessons learned across sites can ease
the need for excessive control by the central office.
 Assessing local offices on outcomes more than process enables greater flexibility for
innovation and autonomy while still rigorously adhering to performance and quality
standards.
 Over time, balancing control and flexibility as an organization grows increasingly becomes a
management challenge.
 Developing and maintaining a strong, up-to-date technology infrastructure can be a critical
aid for managing organizational growth and creating efficiencies.
Scaling capacity 3 : Model

 Codifying What Works. Impact can be scaled more effectively by clearly

articulating essential components of the model so that it can be more easily
and faithfully replicated
 Codifying what works can provide much greater flexibility in who scales the
program
 The simplicity and elegance with which the model is codified can drastically
improve the success of scaling
 Models are typically works in progress that evolve over time; the full set of
“critical specifications” for the model may not be known before scaling
occurs.
Scaling capacity 4 : Culture
 Cultivating and Perpetuating the Culture. For scaling to succeed,
organizations must cultivate and perpetuate during the scaling process those
aspects of the culture—shared values, behaviors and norms—that are critical
for mission achievement.
 Organizational culture comprises the shared assumptions, values, attitudes,
accepted behaviors, and norms within an organization—its “personality” or
simply “The way we do things around here.
 Organizational culture rests at the heart of what makes many social
entrepreneurships uniquely effective. Innovative, entrepreneurial, high-
performing, and results-oriented, the social entrepreneurships in our study
possess strong and clearly identifi able organizational cultures that support
achievement of their missions
 Culture plays an integral role in the success of social entrepreneurships. The
cultures of the organizations we studied were often described as innovative,
entrepreneurial, high-performing, and professional
 All aspects of an organization’s functioning, from its structure, to its policies,
processes, strategies, rituals, staff, and leadership, contribute to and define
an organization’s culture. The greater alignment there is between
organizational decisions and the organization’s culture, the stronger the
culture will be
 Culture is strongly supported by rituals and traditions. Nearly all of the
organizations we studied have traditions and rituals that help to model and
communicate the culture of the organization
 More important than articulating core values is operating according to them.
Core values support mission achievement when they are an active and central
part of the way an organization works. Values are made central when
leadership models them and staff are hired and evaluated against them
Scaling Capacity 5 : Data

 Collecting and Using Data. The ability to gather and use data can be critical
for informing important scaling-related decisions such as establishing needs in
new issue or geographic areas, demonstrating the effectiveness of a model,
setting priorities, and choosing strategies.
 Areas, programs, or approaches, data can be particularly critical to wise and
informed decisionmaking. Gathering and applying data can support scaling in
various ways
 Social entrepreneurships can focus data collection and analysis efforts, while
managing associated expenses, by being thoughtful upfront about what
purposes data are needed for, prioritizing these purposes, and allowing these
priorities to drive the timing of investments.
 Many successfully-scaled social entrepreneurship efforts nurture a hunger for
feedback and information in the organizational culture. By establishing a
“dataminded” organizational culture, collecting and using data become habits
that perpetuate themselves, rather than burdens that staff dread
 The best metrics are those that are meaningful to the effort at hand.

 Effective technology makes data storage, analysis, and reporting effi cient,
reducing human resource costs. Investments in data systems can be an
extremely strategic use of precious resources for infrastructure development.
Scaling capacity 6 : Resources

 Connecting Fundraising to the Mission. Successfully-scaled social

entrepreneurships are able to expand their resource base by viewing fundraising as
a way to achieve mission and by fi nding ways to connect supporters to
programmatic work.
 While fundraising is a perennial need for citizen sector organizations, it becomes
even more pressing during the scaling process
 By conceiving of resource development and program development as integrally
related, social entrepreneurships are able to scale in a stronger and more
sustainable way
 Organizations that approach fundraising as an
 opportunity to build support and connect people to the organization’s mission are
more likely to develop fundraising strategies that also directly contribute to
mission achievement
 Fundraising becomes easier and more effective when there is a culture of
development that encourages viewing fundraising as expanding participation
in the organization’s mission
 Raising money costs money. Whether it involves hiring more staff, investing in
technology, or putting out a mailing or publication, fundraising often entails a
substantial initial investment.
 Organizations broadened their support and resource base by pushing
fundraising responsibilities outward to local offices
 The earlier organizations prepare for the financial costs of scaling and
sustaining a scaled operation, the more effectively they are able to raise
funds
 Cultivating partnerships with governments and business is a successful
resource development strategy employed by many of the organizations.
 In the age of mass media, celebrity spokespeople can generate tremendous
awareness and support for an organization
Scaling capacity 7 : Leadership and
Governance
 Making the Right Decisions for Scaling. Leaders and boards are the agents that
initiate and manage the scaling process. Strong leadership and governance
means making sure the right decisions are made to foster greater mission
achievement during what is often a period of rapid organizational change.
 Ultimately, it is the organization’s leaders and board that make the strategic
and management decisions that foster successful scaling
 Scaling is optimized by leaders and boards who can see what an organization
needs to scale effectively and garner the necessary support to achieve the
vision
 Organizations often succeed by focusing on increasing the quality of
governance practices rather than merely on trying to recruit different or
more skilled board members
 Organizations that thrive are those that expand leadership and governance
responsibilities outwards. This means fostering leadership at all levels of the
organization and delegating governance functions to the local communities in
which the organization operates
 Leadership and governance structures and membership must evolve with the
organization. Scaling increases the demands placed on the organization’s
leadership and governance capacity. Founding directors of a social
entrepreneurship may need to assess their own abilities and limitations, and
perhaps bring on new leadership if it serves the organization’s best interests
CONCLUSION
 Social entrepreneurships occupy a unique space in the cultural landscape.
They are at the forefront of the citizen sector revolution and are fi nding
powerful and innovative ways to solve the world’s most pressing social
problems from environmental degradation to poverty to disease and
educational inequity
 With the help of organizations and funders who are committed to investing in
the social innovations of tomorrow, there are many social entrepreneurs with
powerful ideas ready to scale and realize their potential impact.
 The seven critical scaling capacities highlighted in this paper point to the
types of organizational challenges that social entrepreneurships often face
during the scaling process and the types of capacity-building work that can
help social entrepreneurships meet these challenges and scale effectively
 For fledgling social entrepreneurships, the overarching lesson of these scaled
efforts is clear: scaling requires strong organizations. Organizational capacity
building is not a luxury that entrepreneurs should invest in when extra
resources are available. Developing organizational capacity is essential for
social entrepreneurships to reach the full promise of their ideas
THANK YOU