Education Resource 1: Three Questions to Ask When Seeking Innovative Companies

PROVO, Utah – Jan 29, 2013 – This is part one of a series released by the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance. The series intends to share the knowledge taught in Ballard Center classes.

How can you work smarter, but not harder, to make large-scale changes in the world? You have limited time and resources, so consider the following questions prior to partnering (i.e. interning, volunteering, donating, or working) with an organization that aims to solve world problems.

1. Does the organization address the root cause or a symptom?

In this section we will discuss the difference between a root cause and a symptom and then provide questions to ask organizations when assessing if they are addressing the root cause.

Symptoms Vs. Root Cause

A symptom is the surface level of an issue. For instance, if a child is coughing it is a symptom of something more serious such as an allergy, bronchitis, choking, etc. The root cause is defined as the origin of the problem. In this example the root cause of coughing could be pollen, an infection, or food lodged in the child’s air path.

Questions to Ask

Asking “why” may be the best way to discover if an organization is addressing the root cause. For example an organization that is dedicated to alleviating poverty but only focuses on food and shelter is addressing symptoms. To discover the root cause, the organization would need to ask the following series of “why” questions

• “Why does the individual need food and shelter?”  The answer may be, “The individual doesn’t have a job.” 
• “Why doesn’t the individual have a job?”  The answer to this question may be mental illness, lack of education, work-skills, access to loans, etc.

This would lead into another series of “why” questions. Typically addressing the root cause takes more time and resources; however, it can also create long-term change for the individual and society by stopping the problem before it starts.

Prior to partnering, you need to determine if you are satisfied with an organization that exclusively addresses symptoms, or are you interested in alleviating the problem completely? If it’s the latter, then discover how the organization finds and tackles the root cause of the problem.

Keep in mind, addressing both the symptom and root cause has its place—after all, you have to feed a man while you are teaching him to fish.

2. Does the organization provide a handout or a hand up? 

Handout Vs. Hand up

With exception to emergency situations, handouts can make an individual more dependent on organizations, individuals or the government.

Handouts such as food, hygiene kits, shoes, etc. run the risk of actually fostering the cycle of dependency instead of making an individual more self-reliant. These handouts eventually run out and then perpetuate the problem. If you give someone food today, they will still need more tomorrow. If you give someone a pair of shoes, they will need another pair when they grow out of it. A hand up, however, can help an individual beat the cycle of dependency and become more self-reliant. Items that help in this category include loans, education, networking opportunities, etc. These things enable individuals to overcome their situations and create positive societal change.

Questions to Ask

Here are good questions that will help you evaluate whether an organization gives handouts or hand ups:

• Does the product or service help stimulate the economy or take jobs away?
• Will the consumer continuously need this product or service, consequently making them more reliant on aid?

If your product or service assists in job creation and self-service, you can feel better about creating a community that is more self-reliant.

3. Does the organization partner with key stakeholders in the community?

In order to create real change in communities, organizations must be spear-headed and guided by local community leaders. When solutions are created and implemented by people outside of the community, the “solution” runs the risk of being out of touch with the real problem and is overall ineffective in creating change.

Questions to Ask

• Does the organization you are partnering with consult with the community they are serving or do they assume the needs of a community? 
• How do they determine the needs of the community?
• How do they help the community implement their needs?

When solutions are created and implemented by local leaders and stake-holders in the community, not only are they better addressing the issues at hand but also the change becomes more sustainable in society.

Doing good and creating change in the world is an admiral pursuit. Knowing you have limited time and resources which you can allocate to changing the world, ask yourself and organizations these questions to find solutions that make a difference.

If you have comments, questions or suggestions, contact us at ballard@byu.edu.