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Ubels, J.

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Ubels
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Ubels, J.

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    Supporting a systems approach to scaling for all; insights from using the Scaling Scan tool
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024) Woltering, L.; Valencia Leñero, E.M.; Boa, M.; Van Loon, J.; Ubels, J.; Leeuwis, C.
    Publication
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    The Scaling Scan: a practical tool to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your scaling ambition
    (PPPlab, 2021) Jacobs, F.; Ubels, J.; Woltering, L.; Boa, M.
    Scaling aims to increase the use of innovations (new technologies or practices) to impact many people. At the same time, scaling should also lead to a sustainable system change in which the impact remains, or even accelerates, without further special project or donor interventions. Successful scaling of innovations requires that at least as much attention is paid to the complementary non-technological requirements. These non-technical requirements form the basis for the Scaling Scan, which is built around 10 “Scaling Ingredients” that each require attention to reach a scaling ambition.
    Publication
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    Scaling – from “reaching many” to sustainable systems change at scale: a critical shift in mindset
    (Elsevier, 2019) Woltering, L.; Fehlenberg, K.; Gerard, B.; Ubels, J.; Cooley, L.
    Countless development projects have piloted solutions that could make a difference if only applied at scale. The reality is that these pilot projects hardly ever reach the intended scale to contribute significantly to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, we argue that two major problems undermine efforts to achieve scale in development projects. First, pilot projects are usually set up and managed in very controlled environments that make it very difficult to transition to the real world at scale. Second, poor conceptual and methodological clarity on what scaling is and how it can be pursued often results in a narrow focus on reaching numbers. Counting household adoption at the end of a grant project is a poor metric of whether these people can and will sustain adoption after the project closes, let alone if adoption will reach others and actually contributes to improved livelihoods. We advocate for a broader view on scaling that more accurately reflects the transformational change agenda of the SDGs: from reaching many to a process aiming to achieve sustainable systems change at scale. Sustainable systems change alters a sufficient number of key drivers (incentives, rules, etc.) such that the system that once perpetuated a “problem” now instead perpetuates a “solution.” This has implications on the way projects are designed and implemented. Rather than focusing on changing conditions within the project context, projects should serve as vehicles for societal change. This means that projects make most sense if designed as part of a multisector, long-term programmatic approach. Treating scaling as a transformation process helps deal with the necessary coevolution of organizational and institutional arrangements, along with the innovations in a technology or practice. To help address scaling, we present a number of frameworks that guide users to assess the scalability of innovations, design for scale from the onset of projects, and systematically think through key elements, ingredients, or success factors. We conclude that scaling requires different skills, approaches, and ways of collaborating than those required for successful implementation of pilot projects. It calls for development actors to have a mindset that allows them to creatively navigate multiple overlapping systems; likewise, they must develop a clear vision about which elements in the system the actors can and cannot address, and about where they need to collaborate strategically to exert influence. Although it is tempting to hope for the silver bullet solution that changes the world, we argue for an approach that takes scaling serious in its own right and recognizes the complexities involved in facilitating a transition to a new “normal.”
    Publication
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    Panorama de Escalamiento versión en español del "Scaling Scan": una herramienta práctica para determinar las fortalezas y debilidades de su ambición de escalamiento
    (PPPlab, 2018) Jacobs, F.; Ubels, J.; Woltering, L.
    El escalamiento, tiene como objetivo aumentar el uso de innovaciones (nuevas tecnologías o prácticas) para crear impacto de largo alcance. A su vez, el escalamiento debe conducir a un cambio sostenible del sistema en el que el impacto se mantenga o incluso se acelere sin la necesidad de recurrir a proyectos especiales o intervenciones de donantes. Para que el escalamiento de innovaciones sea exitoso se requiere de la misma atención que se les presta a los requerimientos complementarios no tecnológicos. Estos requerimientos forman la base para el Scaling Scan1 (Panorama de Escalamiento), el cual se basa en 10 «Ingredientes del escalamiento» que requieren de atención para alcanzar una ambición de escalamiento.
    Publication
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Scaling Scan: a practical tool to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your scaling ambition
    (PPPlab, 2018) Jacobs, F.; Ubels, J.; Woltering, L.
    Scaling aims to increase the use of innovations (new technologies or practices) to impact many people. At the same time, scaling should also lead to a sustainable system change in which the impact remains, or even accelerates, without further special project or donor interventions. Successful scaling of innovations requires that at least as much attention is paid to the complementary non-technological requirements. These non-technical requirements form the basis for the Scaling Scan, which is built around 10 “Scaling Ingredients” that each require attention to reach a scaling ambition.
    Publication