How can successful pilots ready themselves for growth and impact? Why is it so hard to scale something that works, even when there is capital to support its expansion?

There is no silver bullet or secret formula for getting to scale. But there are identifiable pathways and patterns to what moves a successful pilot to a broad-based solution.

But first, how do we define scale in the context of social change? Here, “scale” means:

- Identifying a critical social problem and promising/proven solutions that could address that problem.

- Estimating the total number of people who would benefit if the problem were solved.

- Expanding solutions—changes to systems, policies, and practices—so that a significant portion of the target population is positively affected.

- Implementing and sustaining those changes for long-term impact.

The SCALE + Lab is a collaborative and innovative platform that brings together leaders across sectors and disciplines to partner in designing and implementing roadmaps to expand targeted interventions.

The Lab helps translate the theoretical to the real world, using its direct experience to help leaders bring interventions to scale. The Lab brings:

- Subject matter expertise in multiple disciplines, including justice, workforce, behavioral health, and public data systems.

- Leadership experience across government, nonprofits, and philanthropy.

- The Marron Institute’s complementary resources, expertise, and access to faculty across NYU.

The Lab helps leaders develop pathways to sustainable change and long-term impact. This involves:

- Acting as an intermediary, technical resource, convener, catalyst, and translator, bringing sectors and disciplines together in an action-oriented, collaborative environment to advance select interventions.

- Identifying common drivers/barriers to scale for these interventions and designing a roadmap for addressing them that includes:

     * Teasing out the necessary conditions for growth vs. what should be adapted to local circumstances.

     * Establishing common definitions of success, metrics and data collection methods for shared accountability, learning, and impact.

     * Mapping the structure and functions of each sector to create more alignment across sectors and key disciplines.

     * Pressure-testing channels for reaching a significant portion of target populations.

- Ensuring approaches to the work are equitable, address racial and other disparities, and incorporate the perspective of people with lived experience.

- Helping organizations navigate change and build the necessary capacity to support growth.

- Supporting development of strategic action plans or blueprints that can be used to access public and private resources that support implementation and long-term growth.

- Testing, learning, and sharing practices and research that advance common goals.

Most of our biggest problems are not going to be solved through a single sector or a single solution.

Sustained impact at scale requires collaboration across sectors (nonprofit, government, philanthropy, academia), social disciplines (criminal justice, health and mental health, employment), and community stakeholders (public and private).

Most deep-seated problems also require multiple solutions that are complementary—for example, changes in the justice system can create opportunities in the workforce and healthcare systems; advocacy for policy changes can create opportunities for better practice and direct services.

Strong leaders recognize the power of multistakeholder approaches; they know they can’t succeed alone. The Scale + Lab is designed to help these leaders make their visions reality.

Our Initial Work