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Scaling Impact: Innovation for the Public Good

 
Book cover of farmlands for scaling impact
Author(s)
Robert McLean and John Gargani
Publisher(s)
Routledge, IDRC
ISBN
9781138605558
e-ISBN
9781552506097

Available formats

Scaling Impact introduces a new and practical approach to scaling the positive impacts of research and innova­tion. Inspired by leading scientific and entrepreneurial innovators from across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East, this book presents a syn­thesis of unrivalled diversity and grounded ingenuity. The result is a different perspective on how to achieve impact that matters, and an important challenge to the predomi­nant more-is-better paradigm of scaling.

For organizations and individuals working to change the world for the better, scaling impact is a common goal and a well-founded aim. The world is changing rapidly, and seem­ingly intractable problems like environmental degradation or accelerating inequality press us to do better for each other and our environment as a global community. Challenges like these appear to demand a significant scale of action, and here the authors argue that a more creative and critical approach to scaling is both possible and essential.

To encourage uptake and co-development, the authors present actionable principles that can help organizations and innovators design, manage, and evaluate scaling strat­egies. Scaling Impact is essential reading for development and innovation practitioners and professionals, but also for researchers, students, evaluators, and policymakers with a desire to spark meaningful change.

View the video of the book’s launch at the Center for Global Development (February 5, 2020)

The authors

Robert Mclean

Robert McLean

Robert McLean is senior program specialist in Policy and Evaluation at IDRC. He led the Scaling Science exploration, which underpins this book.
John Gargani

John Gargani

John Gargani is founder and president of Gargani + Company, Inc. based in Berkeley, California. He is past-president of the American Evaluation Association.

An interview with the authors of our book, Scaling Impact

Media
Remote video URL