Phase 1. Readiness Runway
is all about cultivating urgency for change, having conversations and dialogue about the need for working differently, forming relationships, and building trust.
At the 'Readiness Runway' phase
Different groups or sectors are raising awareness about a challenge that matters to the community and working to gain support for the collaboration and system thinking needed to address that challenge. Leadership and coordination may still be informal and this is fine. However, if a specific ‘backbone’ entity is in place, it is important that there is accountability to a formal or informal local leadership group that includes community. In this phase, it is important to use data and stories for insight and to discover more about what is happening and why. Measurement and learning become assets for understanding the present situation and for supporting dialogue.
How do you know you are on the 'Readiness Runway'?
Some of the things you may see happening in your community include...
- Trust may be low between community, government, service providers and other institutions, but a catalyst provides a focus or reason for people to come together to talk about the need for change and become aware of the problem.
- This catalyst, and the ‘space’ it opens up for people to come together, results in small pockets of people hoping that change is possible.
- A local champion or voice is starting to emerge, and people are beginning to see the issue as urgent and important.
- Different sectors are talking, but not yet with each other, about the need for collaboration and leadership.
- Leadership tends to be fragmented and people feel disconnected from decision-making processes.
- Awareness is being raised about using a collaborative approach to address the issue and shift the conditions that are holding it in place.
- While some recognise that change is necessary, there are varying degrees of understanding and commitment to working differently.
- Small groups or pockets of activity may be focussing on addressing part of the puzzle rather than the whole challenge.
- Data is being used to report on programmatic activities and outputs, but does not reflect on what is happening at the broader community or systems levels.
- People probably see monitoring and evaluation as a bit of a burden or something that has to be done for others.
Readiness Runway Case studies
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CHANGE | Readiness Runway: Leadership
Leadership
Building Leadership in this phase will involve cultivating a sense that it is possible to achieve different outcomes by thinking and working differently, and focussing attention on building understanding and urgency for change at a pace that most community members, stakeholders and the system can cope with.
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CHANGE | Readiness Runway: Collaboration
Collaboration
Building Collaboration in this phase will involve developing open dialogue to maintain the focus on the need for change and working differently, investing in deep collaboration with community to understand local context and aspirations, and not jumping too soon to designing solutions.
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CHANGE | Readiness Runway: Community
Community
Building Community in this phase will involve reflecting on what is held in common such as shared past, values, culture and language. Exploring the causes of turbulence in the past and imagining better future possibilities will provide a solid foundation to help understand which parts of the system are open to collaborative decision making and action.
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CHANGE | Readiness Runway: Measurement
Measurement
Building Measurement in this phase will involve finding examples of things that have worked in other places that could inform thinking, using data as a source of insight to build a shared narrative with community, and building skills to learn together from the start.
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CHANGE | Readiness Runway: Innovation
Innovation
Building Innovation in this phase will involve raising awareness about how to identify and work with complexity, deepening understanding of the lived experience of people by hearing their stories, understanding their perspective and building authentic relationships, and building a mindset for innovation to thrive.
Role of Government
Government can be a powerful enabler for those on the readiness runway. This is a phase where an issue(s) has been identified and people are looking for change. Key roles for government during this phase include listening, sharing knowledge, engaging government colleagues and connecting people at the local level.
Role of Philantropy
Philanthropy can be a powerful enabler for those on the readiness runway. This phase is a time of listening, fostering relationships and investing funds to strengthening connections and interdependence.
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