Small Wins Research Articles

Experimentation in Wicked Situations: How activists construct pragmatic action frames

Experimentation is key in wicked situations; it provides small wins while keeping several options open for the future. The literature is, however, scarce on how experimentation is framed, a crucial aspect to the understanding of how actors identify and pursue experiments in situations that are constantly changing and lack a clear resolution. We address this gap by drawing on the concept of ‘action frames’ and deploying a comparative case study of nine cases in diverse contexts in which activists experimented with wicked problems. We find that activists pragmatically shy away from pursuing a permanent solution to focus instead on achieving small wins, diagnosing ‘symptoms’ rather than ‘root causes’ of problems, and ‘working around’ institutional constraints instead of directly ‘confronting’ them. This pragmatic action frame prompts them to initiate pilot experiments that involve trial-and-error and collective learning, and that sometimes scaffold into cumulative small wins. Reflecting on our findings, we build a model of how pragmatic action frames fuel distributed possibilities to experiment in wicked situations. Our model contributes to the literature on wicked problems by revealing how activists ‘welcome’ complexity instead of ‘taming’ it. We contribute to the literature on action frames by demonstrating how multiple viable pragmatic action frames are constructed iteratively without threatening an alternative, dominant frame. Lastly, we contribute to the literature on robust action by demonstrating how pragmatic action frames pave the way for distributed experimentation and by unpacking the core attributes that make ‘robust actors’ accepting of open-ended wayfinding journeys.

A Model for Alleviating Work Pressures and Enhancing Teachers’ Resilience

Teaching is a complex task that requires knowledge of what to teach, how to teach it, and how to cope with educational challenges. To perform their duties effectively, teachers’ mental well-being and inner states are essential. This study aims to define teacher resilience, give examples of the stressors and challenges that EFL/ESL college instructors face and the factors that lead to attrition and burnout. It also aims to propose strategies for coping with negative stressors. Results of a survey with a sample of EFL/ESL college instructors at five higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia who teach language, linguistics, translation and interpreting courses to undergraduate students showed that they face intellectual, emotional, and service-related stressors and challenges that impact their well-being and effectiveness such as high workload, limited support, meeting deadlines, managing their time effectively, students’ behavior and attitudes, classroom management and health concerns, financial and economic issues, balancing their work and personal, and lack of support and recognition. In addition, some instructors complained of lack of motivation and enthusiasm, fatigue, headaches, irritability, anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating. To combat stress, mental and emotional challenges that some instructors face, this study proposes some coping strategies based on the principles of positive psychology to help foster teacher resilience, maintain a strong and effective teaching workforce, and empower educators to thrive in their profession. These coping strategies cover psychological, pedagogical, interpersonal, and pragmatic aspects such as identifying the signs of stress, prioritizing self-care and well-being, setting achievable goals, time management and organization, embracing flexibility and adaptability, adopting a positive mindset, classroom management techniques, advocating for resources and support, attending professional development workshops, building/joining a strong support network, collaborating with other colleagues to share ideas and strategies, reflecting on and assessing their teaching practices, practicing mindfulness, quick relaxation techniques, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, listening to music, regulating emotional responses, and celebrating small wins. The coping strategies posed herein are described in detail.

Transforming the food system in ‘unprotected space’: the case of diverse grain networks in England

Transitioning to food systems that are equitable, resilient, healthy and environmentally sustainable will require the cultivation and diffusion of transformational sociotechnical innovations—and grassroots movements are an essential source of such innovations. Within the literature on strategic niche management, government-provided ‘protected spaces’ where niche innovations can develop without facing the pressures of the market is an essential part of sustainability transitions. However, because of their desire to transform rather than transition food systems, grassroots movements often struggle to acquire such protected spaces and so must determine how and where to generate change whilst being marginalised and exposed to unprotected spaces. The aim of this research is to gain a precise view of the multiple touchpoints of marginalisation that exist across the grassroots-government interface and to apply a new framework for conceptual analysis of these touchpoints that can help to identify where and how grassroots movements might be able to push against this marginalisation. The study finds that, by applying a ‘who, what, where’ framework of analysis to policies across this interface, it is possible to find pathways forward for achieving small wins towards food systems transformation.

Managing Strategic Tensions in the Development of Organizational Ecosystems

The paper explores the key strategic tensions in the development of organizational ecosystems as well as the applied responses. It presents a conceptual overview of the key tension areas faced by the coordinators of complex inter-organizational systems and the results of empirical case studies conducted in knowledge-intensive industrial clusters in Lithuania (in the fields of high-technologies, information and communications technology, medical innovations and wellness products, cinema and game industries, machinery production and tourism). The research presented in the paper identifies eight strategic tensions faced by the leaders responsible for the development of organizational ecosystems: (1) focused interventionism vs. self-organization; (2) hierarchy-based structures vs. network-based (eco)systems; (3) under-connectedness vs. over-connectedness; (4) central rules vs. emerging metanorms; (5) short-term vs. long-term orientation; (6) focus on elements vs. relationships in the system; (7) big wins vs. small wins; and (8) exploitation vs. exploration. Case studies and expert interviews with the coordinators of different industrial clusters revealed the diversity of adopted approaches. The more mature the social and industrial context of the industrial cluster is, the less pronounced are the strategic tensions, and there is less need for focused interventions. In cases where such interventions are needed, the leaders of ecosystems adopt one of the following approaches: (1) take a position on one of the extremes by seeking to leverage the situation; (2) adopt a trade-off approach by seeking a point of balance; (3) capitalize on both extremes at the same time. The adopted approach may vary from one strategic tension to another within the same organizational ecosystem.

The transition of Ghana's cooling appliance sector to a circular economy via a small wins governance framework

Air conditioning poses environmental, socioeconomic, and political challenges, especially in sub-Saharan countries such as Ghana, where almost all devices are imported. Thus far, socio-economically feasible pathways for a cooling transition to a circular economy are unclear. Drawing on qualitative interviews, field observations and survey data, this study analyses the potential of small wins governance as a pathway to sweeping system change along Ghana's air-conditioners' lifecycle. The research analyses the status quo and identifies potential small wins that could lead to transformative shifts in the cooling sector. Through a mixed-methods approach encompassing interviews, surveys, and field assessments, the study uncovers small wins at four stages of the air conditioner lifecycle, from (1) import, (2) retail & purchase, (3) usage & service, and (4) end-of-life management practices. For policymakers and practitioners, our results imply that they should (a) systematically encourage and reap small wins in public-private spaces in the short-term, e.g. changing the incentive structure for staff controlling imports of air conditioners, (b) adjust supporting policies as learning dynamics unfold over time (e.g., energy and refrigerant standards and labels, tax system), but (c) also keep pushing for big wins in the mid-term (e.g., constructions of a recycling plant for refrigerants in West Africa). The findings emphasize the need for a behavioural, consumer-oriented perspective for the pragmatic potential of small wins towards a circular economy. Overall, the study addresses significant gaps in the literature and suggests that bottom-up approaches may offer more success than attempting broad top-down system changes. The paper contributes to the wider discourse on social-ecological transitions and offers valuable insights for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers aiming to foster sustainable practices in the cooling sector.

“Small Wins” for those with Lyme Disease in Canada: Patients in an Embodied Health Movement

Lyme disease patient organizations have formed to challenge a health system that is failing Canadians who suffer from a disease that is ambiguous in its symptomology and trajectory. The framework of an embodied health movement illustrates the importance of the illness experience in mobilizing patients to oppose a system that is reliant on restrictive guidelines that deny testing and treatment and to seek alliances with researchers, physicians, and politicians who are sympathetic to their goals. The strategies of Lyme disease patient organizations, the importance of experiential knowledge, and the roles of both adversaries and allies are examined through a “small wins” approach to gauge successes and setbacks within a Canadian context.

Engaging stakeholders to level up COPD care in LMICs: lessons learned from the “Breathe Well” programme in Brazil, China, Georgia, and North Macedonia

BackgroundEffective stakeholder engagement in health research is increasingly being recognised and promoted as an important pathway to closing the gap between knowledge production and its use in health systems. However, little is known about its process and impacts, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. This opinion piece draws on the stakeholder engagement experiences from a global health research programme on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) led by clinician researchers in Brazil, China, Georgia and North Macedonia, and presents the process, outcomes and lessons learned.Main bodyEach country team was supported with an overarching engagement protocol and mentored to develop a tailored plan. Patient involvement in research was previously limited in all countries, requiring intensive efforts through personal communication, meetings, advisory groups and social media. Accredited training programmes were effective incentives for participation from healthcare providers; and aligning research findings with competing policy priorities enabled interest and dialogue with decision-makers. The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited possibilities for planned engagement, although remote methods were used where possible. Planned and persistent engagement contributed to shared knowledge and commitment to change, including raised patient and public awareness about COPD, improved skills and practice of healthcare providers, increased interest and support from clinical leaders, and dialogue for integrating COPD services into national policy and practice.ConclusionStakeholder engagement enabled relevant local actors to produce and utilise knowledge for small wins such as improving day-to-day practice and for long-term goals of equitable access to COPD care. For it to be successful and sustained, stakeholder engagement needs to be valued and integrated throughout the research and knowledge generation process, complete with dedicated resources, contextualised and flexible planning, and commitment.

(Un)Doing Gender Inequalities in Sport Organizations

Gender can be seen not only as a binary category but also as a performance or doing that is shaped by, and shapes organizational processes and structures that are deeply embedded in (sport) organizations in multiple and complex ways. The purpose of this paper is to explore strategies for addressing the undoing of gender in sport organizations with the use of an overarching or meta-approach. Strategies that aim to undo gender require a recognition of the complexity of regimes of inequality and the need to use incremental steps in the form of small wins while acknowledging change is not linear. The complexity and multiplicity of the gendering of sport organizations should, therefore, be considered a wicked problem. The naming of heterotopias can provide directions or goals for small wins and for addressing the wicked problem of the doing of gender in sport organizations.

The transformative potential of circular agriculture initiatives in the North of the Netherlands

CONTEXTCircular agriculture is increasingly seen as a way to produce food while respecting planetary boundaries. The buzz around circular agriculture results in a wide variety of initiatives and experiments aimed at implementing circularity in practice. So far, no studies provide a systematic overview of ways in which circularity is implemented in practice and the associated transformative potential. OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study, therefore, is to analyse the transformative potential of circular agriculture initiatives within a regional context. In this study, we will address the following research questions: (1) which circular initiatives exist within the region, (2) to what extent do initiatives show transformative potential towards circular agriculture? METHODSWe created a systematic inventory of circular agricultural initiatives on a regional scale, alongside with a systematic empirical application of the framework, which builds on the concept of small wins and puts forward five concrete characteristics for transformative circular agriculture initiatives. We identified 171 circular agriculture initiatives in the North of the Netherlands and subsequently analysed 29 of these to determine their transformative potential. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSThe largest share of the 171 initiatives consists of primary producers, in particular dairy farmers. The in-depth analysis of 29 initiatives resulted in the following insights: many initiatives showed incremental, primarily technological changes and operate within the boundaries of the current system. Initiatives that show a higher transformative potential concerning the depth of change (or more ‘radical change’) are also likely to score higher on other dimensions of the framework (concrete outcomes, integration of circular agriculture principles, overcoming barriers, synergy technological and social change. We therefore endorse the importance of recognizing the initiatives with strong transformative potential and prevent that the implementation of circular agriculture remains focused on merely optimization within the current system while more fundamental changes are needed to address the sustainability challenges. SIGNIFICANCEThe results give insight into characteristics and transformative potential of circular agriculture initiatives which can help to identify where targeted interventions could be implemented to enhance the transformation. Our approach is thereby suitable to analyse the transformative potential of circular agriculture initiatives in other regions and can also be used to analyse the implementation of other sustainability ambitions.

Combining knowledge bases for small wins in peripheral regions. An analysis of the role of innovation intermediaries in sustainability transitions

A growing number of economic geography scholars have discussed the spatial dimensions of sustainability transitions (STs), which entail radical changes in socio-technical systems to overcome societal, economic, and ecological problems. This involves innovation processes with a broad range of distinctive actors. Innovation intermediaries, such as universities and research institutes, are needed to support and accelerate the transfer of knowledge. Nevertheless, little is known about the influence of such actors on the configuration of the knowledge bases required for STs. This article presents insights from 14 semi-structured interviews with experts conducted in a regional innovation system (RIS) in East Germany. In cooperation with the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, we investigate four innovation intermediaries in the region of Eberswalde. The analytical framework links the concept of differentiated knowledge bases to small wins. Our results show that, first, in the Eberswalde region, the relevant actors involved in regional knowledge transfer focus predominantly on synthetic knowledge bases, such as experience-based knowledge of local area settings. Second, symbolic knowledge bases are crucial and often prerequisites for intermediary organizations to recombine knowledge bases and support the capability to innovate in regional knowledge transfer. Symbolic knowledge entails the ability to translate scientific findings to a language that can be understood by the various actors in knowledge transfer. Third, changes in organizational structures complement changes in cultural–cognitive and normative institutions to support innovation on a systemic level and foster change processes.

Determining the transformative potential of circular agriculture initiatives

Policymakers and scientists regard emerging circular initiatives as levers for transformations towards more sustainable food systems. However, it remains unclear how to determine the extent to which circular initiatives have transformative potential. That is, can these initiatives foster a transformation as a result of how they currently bring circularity into practice? In the transformation literature, the characteristics of transformative initiatives are conceptualised in a generic and abstract way. To address this gap, we develop a heuristic of five characteristics for potentially transformative circular agriculture initiatives, which we illustrate with examples of existing initiatives. The heuristic builds on the ‘small wins’ and circular agriculture literature. Initiatives that hold transformative potential contribute to circular agriculture principles with outcomes that are concrete, in-depth and both technological and social in nature. Additionally, these initiatives faced barriers and overcame them. The heuristic enables policymakers, who call for circular solutions, to identify truly transformative circular initiatives.

Establishing and Leading a 3D Postprocessing Radiology Lab: A Managerial and Leadership Perspective.

The rapid acquisition of larg volumes of thin-section CT images has created a considerable need and interest for 3D postprocessing during the interpretation of medical imaging. As a result of the increasing number of postprocessing applications, requiring diagnostic radiologists to perform postprocessing is no longer realistic. This article is a comprehensive review of medical resources regarding establishing a postprocessing radiology laboratory. Besides, leadership and managerial aspects have been covered through a professional business lens. In large-volume settings, a dedicated 3D postprocessing lab ensures the quality, reproducibility, and efficiency of images. Adequate staffing is necessary to fulfill the postprocessing requirements. Educational and experience requirements for 3D technologists may vary among different running laboratories. To evaluate the establishment and running of a 3D lab, it is beneficial to implement diagnostic radiology cost-effectiveness tools. Although establishing a 3D lab has many benefits, certain challenges should be considered. Outsourcing or offshoring may serve as alternatives for establishing a postprocessing laboratory. Building and operating a 3D lab is a significant change in healthcare facilities, and it is crucial for organizations to be aware of the strong resistance toward alternatives the status quo, known as the status quo trap. The change process has essential steps, and skipping the steps creates an illusion of speed but never produces satisfactory results. The organization should ensure the engagement of all interested parties in the whole process. Moreover, a clear vision and proper communication of the vision are vital, and it is crucial to value small wins and ensure expectation clarity in leading the lab during the process.

#TreatmentResistantDepression: A qualitative content analysis of Tweets about difficult-to-treat depression.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is depression unresponsive to antidepressants and affects 55% of British primary care users with depression. Current evidence is from secondary care, but long referral times mean general practitioners (GPs) manage TRD. Studies show that people with depression use Twitter to form community and document symptoms. However, Twitter remains a largely unexplored space of documented patient experience. Twitter data could provide valuable insights into learning about primary care experiences of TRD. In this study, we explored Twitter comments and conversations about TRD and produced patient-driven recommendations. Tweets from UK-based users were collected manually and using a browser extension in June 2021. Conventional content analysis was used to provide an overview of the Tweets, followed by interpretation to understand why Twitter may be important to people with TRD. A total of 415 Tweets were organised into five clusters: self-diagnosis, symptoms, support, small wins and condition experts. These Tweets were interpreted as showing Twitter as a community for people with TRD. People had a collective sense of illness identity and were united in their experiences of TRD. However, users in the community also highlighted the absence of effective GP care, leading users to position themselves as condition experts. Users shared advice from a place of lived experience with the community but also shared potentially harmful information, including recommendations about nonevidence-based medications. Findings illuminate the benefits of the TRD Twitter community and also highlight that the perception of a lack of knowledge and support from GPs may lead community members to advise nonevidenced-based medications. This study was led by a person with lived experience of TRD and bipolar. Two public contributors with mental health conditions gave feedback on our study protocol and results.

The mundanity of cost cutting: The value of small wins in affordable housing production

Regardless of the best intentions to address the issue among policy makers, affordable housing remains one of the most underprovided assets in advanced economies, otherwise characterized by an ample supply of product offerings. The paper addressed the question of how affordable housing can be provided on basis of new housing production. The study is premised on the theoretical proposition that excellence is not primarily a matter of working “harder” or “smarter” than competitors do, but is rather an effect of small, yet discernable qualitative changes (being the basis for the management of the “mundanity of excellence”) that generate benefits and returns in excess of what may be originally expected. The value of such “small wins” are of general relevance for any organized activity or managerial pursuit. Drawing on a study of two low-cost producers operating in the Swedish market and (in one of the cases) abroad, it is shown that to make newly produced homes affordable (defined in local terms on basis of documented housing sales and their buying price), the planning, production, and sales cost need to be minimized throughout the whole process. Affordable housing is thus provided on basis of a full organizational and wider institutional commitment to serve households with limited budget headroom, and this work demands a long-term commitment to stated business objectives and enacted housing policies.

Academics Applying Interventionist Research to Deal with Wicked and Complex Societal Problems

ABSTRACT This commentary presents reflections and insights about the role and the legitimacy of academics applying interventionist research to deal with wicked and complex societal problems. It discusses the ethical and moral dilemmas about the role and position of researchers when they are asked to observe, analyse and study conflictual social phenomena in which they are immersed. Starting from a research project in Italy on socio-economic impact evaluation of megaprojects, this commentary wants to bring to the academic community several open questions arising from issues that all of us scholars have to face. First, the applied case, i.e. the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway, and the challenge associated with the research project – developing a socio-economic impact protocol– are described. Second, the implications for researchers, and their legitimacy, are discussed. Third, the three pillars of the strategy adopted for this research intervention are detailed: interparadigmatic research, a critically performative aim, and a commitment to emancipation through a politics of small wins. Finally, in the conclusion, several questions about the boundaries of research, the risk of selfishness, or the quest for objectivity, are reported to open up the debate on the interventionist role of research, its risk and legitimacy, within wicked and conflicting social phenomena.

Sweat the Small Stuff, How Small Incidents of Negative Workplace Behavior Lead to Larger Misconduct

Small losses, measurable incremental negative workplace behaviors that do not align with organizational and societal norms often trigger a dynamic, magnifying process that produces greater undesirable outcomes, which once started, can often result in a downward spiral. Quickly addressing small problems can prevent minor misconduct and wrongdoing from escalating into greater difficulties later that can appear unstoppable. Failure to tackle the small issues and big problems will often follow. Managers should celebrate small victories or wins but also need to address small losses. Just as small wins can result in significant organizational gains, small losses can result in business losses.

Strategic Partnerships to Leverage Small Wins for Fine Fuels Management

Rangeland wildfire is a wicked problem that cuts across a mosaic of public and private rangelands in the western United States and countless countries worldwide. Fine fuel accumulation in these ecosystems contributes to large-scale wildfires and undermines plant communities’ resistance to invasive annual grasses and resilience to disturbances such as fire. Yet it can be difficult to implement fuels management practices, such as grazing, in socially and politically complex contexts such as federally managed rangelands in the United States. In this Research-Partnership Highlight, we argue that private-public partners in such settings must be strategic in their selection of tasks to generate “small wins” in order to build the trust, competency, and legitimacy needed to advance an approach for landscape-scale fine fuels management. We highlight a fine fuels reduction partnership consisting of public and private entities in southeastern Oregon that established a research and education project and applied dormant-season grazing on three pastures within the Vale District Bureau of Land Management. We describe the impetus for the partnership, antecedents, strategic tactics, and ongoing learning and reflection used to revise processes. In this example, implementing dormant-season grazing as a research and education project allowed the partners to assess the efficaciousness of the treatment, as well as the operational logistics and administrative competencies necessary to apply the treatment to manage fine fuels at broader scales. Because dormant-season grazing may, in some instances, conflict with established practices and norms, small-scale projects such as this allow partners to refine understandings of the social and administrative conditions that make implementation possible. Generating small wins through projects such as this is a critical precursor for partnerships seeking to take on larger, more complex endeavors that involve increasing ecological, economic, and social uncertainty.

What makes “difficult” settings difficult? Contextual challenges for accountability

SummaryMotivationIt is increasingly common for international development actors to work in difficult and fragile settings, yet much of our understanding of accountability through social and political action comes from more stable settings. As an increasing percentage of the world's population live in places characterized by fragility, it is essential to understand the context for accountability in these settings.PurposeThis article proposes a framework based on three domains of contestation: natural resources, identity, and legitimacy. Based on this framework, it unpacks the constraints towards progress on accountability in difficult settings, and the challenges in creating an environment for citizen claim‐making.Methods and approachThe article draws on research from a five‐year Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) programme which focused on examining social and political action in Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Research papers from the programme were analysed together with a close reading of existing literature to decipher the common traits hampering citizen action and state response in difficult settings.FindingsThe core argument is that a weak state and the prevalence of non‐state groups vying for power are fundamental to difficult contexts in three different domains: natural resources, legitimacy, and identity, in which underlying contestation generates conflict, violence, and fragility. The three domains are set within two structural factors: historical legacies and social norms. The article traces how contestation in these domains within structural factors influences the behaviour of powerholders as well as the outlook of citizens who could make accountability claims.Policy implicationsThe article concludes by suggesting that lessons for development actors attempting to promote accountability in these settings are: to “work with the grain”, e.g. recognize the context and work with it; explore possibilities for change at the local level, e.g. where alliance building and networking might be more feasible; and look for the small wins—because in a context fraught with difficulties, small achievements such as overcoming fear should be counted as a success.

Small Wins through Inducement Prizes: Introducing Challenge-Oriented Regional Prizes (CORP)

There is an emerging consensus that innovation policies must be geared towards solving societal challenges. The policy complexity of the third generation of innovation policy (TGIP), however, puts less-developed European regions at risk of being left behind from this novel policy paradigm due to lower institutional and governance capacities. Building on the concept of a small wins strategy that focuses on small-scale and bottom-up initiatives that are guided by a shared mission to address wicked problems, the article’s methodology uses expert interviews, examples of challenge prizes, and desk research to explore whether inducement prizes can potentially engage less-developed regions (LDRs) in TGIP to address place-based societal challenges through a small wins strategy. The article introduces the concept of a challenge-oriented regional prize (CORP) as a stepping-stone policy tool to engage LDRs in TGIP through a small wins strategy, namely regarding issues of directionality, legitimacy, responsibility, and strategic orientation. CORPs are, however, not a silver bullet policy tool for LDRs to engage in TGIPs due to their design and implementation constraints.

Ugnayan: A Positive Psychological Program for Enhancing the Well-Being of Filipino COVID-19 Survivors

COVID-19 survivors are prone to psychological distress even after recovery. This study developed and tested an online program, entitled Ugnayan, that aimed to enhance Covid-19 survivors’ well-being. Ugnayan incorporated the well-being elements of positive emotion, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, and accomplishments/achievement (PERMA) based on Seligman’s (2011) framework. The study employed an explanatory-sequential approach with a quasi-experimental design. The quasi-experimental involved a mixed design (within and between subjects) where PERMA scores were measured. As a supplemental, qualitative data from selected participants were collected after the post-intervention. Using a mixed-model ANOVA, the results suggested that there was a significant difference between the participants’ pre-test and post-test PERMA scores. There was also a significant difference in PERMA scores in terms of symptomatology. Additionally, there was a significant interaction of effects between the Ugnayan program and the participants’ COVID-19 symptomatology. The qualitative data highlighted the participants’ improvement-related experiences which were related to gratitude, stress management, social connection, engaging in activities, finding purpose, meaning, and acknowledging small wins. Recommendations for further research and utilization of the Ugnayan program for the general population were also offered.