Embracing complexity with Dan McClure

In the video above, Dan discusses how we can scale innovative solutions to make high impact improvements in humanitarian response. He says that existing problems around scaling innovations are often due to solutions being created as simple and easily testable ideas. But to take these innovations to scale, they must become standardized, replicable solutions, which need structure. To get there they should go thorough a stage which is complex, has multiple dimensions and often needs lots of additional work. Currently this stage is often missing.

The Start Network’s vision is a humanitarian system in which funding will be dependable and predictable, based on humanitarian need. After an eight-year journey, the Start Network has achieved so much, although it hasn’t yet become the global ‘network of networks’ that is needed in order to deliver this vision.

In May we launched a new process called Start Evolves which is an opportunity for members and others to co-design what the Start Network will look like in future in order to deliver our vision. We see this process as being related to the stage on our innovation Dan describes above.