A Deeper Look

BENEFITS OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION ON INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANTS

According to respondents, the benefits of inner work and the resulting personal transformation  of individual participants are observable and can be profound. Following are our five most  consistent insights:  

1. Inner work fosters a sense of optimism, purpose, meaning and connection to something  larger than oneself. Individuals who access concepts and tools that promote personal  transformation seem to (re)discover an observable belief in themselves, in others, and in  the possibility of a positive future. 

I completely changed my relationship with myself and questioned most of the things I  believed in. I can definitely say that when we re-write our personal stories and learn to  love ourselves, fully - the light and the shadow - we love others and the world better.  And as a result, our world slowly starts to change.  

It’s about confidence and belief in both their own abilities, but also belief that a different  life/future is possible. These things really go hand in hand. 

2. Inner work generates greater awareness of the importance of wellbeing and supports learning, healing and growth, allowing change agents to stay the course longer and with  greater ease. Inner work helps surface an individual’s suffering and strengths and allows for  the development of knowledge, skills, positive attitudes, and behaviors that benefit one’s  perspective on their role in their work. It reenergizes efforts, mitigates burn-out, supports  conflict resolution, and allows groups and individuals to sustain action through whatever life  brings them. 

Among US and European colleagues, I've noticed a significant growth in awareness of  the importance of wellbeing and "consciousness" in the psychological and spiritual  sense.  

The "kind" of personal transformation I see that is needed and that is taking place when  the resources are available is developmental healing - that is becoming freed from  childhood wounds and the unconscious stories that govern their behavior and also  healing from trauma - and spiritual awakening - opening to and living from a place of  profound connection and presence.  

More peace, compassion, and wisdom allow us as activists and staff working for social  change to defuse conflict much more skillfully and wholeheartedly than we otherwise  would. While we are not conflict-free (no human group can be, for long!), and escalation  still does happen, time and time again I have seen crises averted by the desire and inner  resourcefulness available to move toward reconciliation.

We see more clear discernment of vocation and call to action and greater resilience  (ability to adapt) /less burnout. 

3. Personal transformation generates empowerment, agency, and action to improve not only  one’s own circumstances, but others’ as well. Participants are described as “stepping into”  their own lives and moving into leadership with greater ease and confidence.  

Supporting personal transformation empowers individuals to show up as whole people  and unleashes their full capacity as leaders and change agents. It dramatically increases  agency and their effectiveness in the fulfillment of their mission work. 

We see that when girls know their rights and have confidence communicating, they can  stand up for themselves. One graduate was being harassed by college teacher who  threatened to fail her if she did not sleep with him. She said, "I look him in the eye and  said I have paid to be here, I have every right to be here and you leave me alone." She  reported that he did in fact then leave her alone and she learned how to stand up for  herself in her life skills classes. 

Our programming with adolescent girls shows that when girls are provided with an asset  (individually or as part of a group) they -often with the support of a female mentor - are  able to develop stronger communication/negotiation skills with family and peers in other  aspects of their lives (delaying marriage, staying in school, etc.). 

The relationship between inner and outer transformation is 100 percent causal. It is not  just a nice thing that happens along the way. It is not that they start businesses and then  discover that they believe in themselves. They believe in themselves first and that allows  

them to start businesses. They start to believe “maybe I can”, and then with practical  tools, they get started. 

4. Personal transformation fosters a sense of belonging and impacts interpersonal  relationships positively. Personal transformation builds compassion and understanding.  This results in improved relationships and connection, and a desire to collaborate or solve  problems more inclusively. Also, as individuals experience transformation, they seem, in  turn, to be viewed differently (i.e., as having greater value or potential) by more powerful  individuals (e.g., parent) or groups (e.g., men).  

One powerful outcome we tend to see from our programs is young people, and girls in  particular, feeling a sense of affirmation of their ideas and value within their families and  communities. Often for the first time being asked what their opinion is, being listened to  and having others respond to that opinion, is a hugely important step toward a sense of  self-worth and one's right to advocate and influence based on their opinions. That  recognition of being someone who matters, adds value and can make important  contributions is a process that begins a transformation in young people and girls in particular.  

We see the spiritual leadership and accompaniment skills offering more depth of  relationship with self and others through difficulty. 

BENEFITS ATTRIBUTED TO RELATIONAL AND APPLIED MODELS

While there are a wide variety of practices that foster inner work and personal transformation,  some respondents attributed the inner change they saw among their beneficiaries to two key  program characteristics – relationship building and application of inner work “skills” in real time.

Relational Models: Within the relational approaches, programs build and depend upon a high quality relationship involving the intentional work of skilled facilitators, mentors, guides,  therapeutic or support networks. The quality of this bond, or the sense of community fostered  by these relationships contributes to a sense of support, that participants are not alone in their  struggle, and contributes to their motivation to face challenges, take risks, and engage in  deeper personal growth and societal transformation. The relational approach involves two key  findings:  

1. Belonging and connection is important – Practicing in supportive spaces (such as cohorts or  teams) and working with a “supportive other” such as a peer mentor allows for increased  personal growth. Additionally, several organizations spoke to the value of feeling part of a larger community or network towards their motivation and sense of commitment. 

Often people deal with this in their private context and when being invited to reflect and  exchange about this, there is a relief to be witnessed 'I am not alone'. 

The 5th Space is a space that exists beyond and between the 4 legitimate spaces  occupied by young people that is Family, Friends, Education / Career and Leisure/ Entertainment. More often than not, the norms of these 4 are not set by young people.  The 5th Space on the other hand is an empowering space governed and co-led by young  people where they reimagine the connection between their inner self to society and  nurture inside-out leadership through experiences and experiments in the real world. 

In our signature program, we have 170 companies who attend retreats. The main  takeaway is that the convening is transformative. They pick up on the values and energy  of others, of a high expectation of achievement. Belonging and community is really  important to reassure them that they are on the right path. Agency is important and  optimism from these high expectations. They leave energized, reaffirming positive  values. This is an attitude of health and openness.  

Change and enhancing personal growth through mentorship has always been our scale  of vision…At the end of the treatment period, they always come out as reformed persons with new admirable characteristics…We always take our measures on how they handle  the following aspects in life: Is there consciousness allowing them to create real and  lasting change? Do they improve or make corrections, and if they contribute to the  desired change in the entire community? If they are able to learn and develop wisdom  and knowledge to make their dreams come true. Are they free and open to feedback?  This is observed on how they minimize the risk of premature action and remain humble  and willing to adapt….Once an individual gets a little knowledge on the chosen path and  a little experience walking the road, they always consider finding a warrior to help them  through the journey.  

It is the quality of the interaction between two people that makes or breaks the  program. If there was a coalition or some evidence of statistically significant RCT data  that shows that such interactions lead to measurably different outcomes, we could  completely change the sector. This is “right relationship” – it changes power dynamics,  discrimination, etc…How you show up, how you react to people, how you relate to others  with dignity and humility. 

2. Holistic models invite positive engagement with the community beyond individual  participants. 

For young people and girls it’s very important to consider those around them that have  influence on their decisions (i.e. gatekeepers) like parents, siblings, teachers, local leaders.  These people, if also part of their own self-transformation into someone who will be  supportive of their son/daughter taking on new, sometimes non-traditional, roles [are] a  critical piece of the puzzle. 

People who come into contact with the Enneagram Prison Project are part of a reciprocity of  healing. We hope to shift the views of people who witness the participants as “career  criminals” – the administration and mental health staff. At San Quintin we shared our approach with the board of parole - 17 out of 18 members were with corrections not mental  health officers. When you meet with your parole board, students go to demonstrate insight.  They get challenged and provoked to see how they will react. Some come back from  hearings denied for 1-7 years. But now the parole board is asking the students their  Enneatype and defense mechanism. Now they know what kind of questions to ask and the  students know what that means and how to handle it. Students speak of self-knowledge.  Social workers and sheriffs now do too. 

Tostan has typically programmed in ways that are responsive to the family and social  networks of communities. Tostan tends to work in clusters of 50 communities spread across  a broader geography, and intentionally works with Community Management Committees to reach out to additional communities they “adopt”. The effects of this broader programming  approach on personal transformation are many. First, individuals know that other people  very similar to them and in some cases in their extended family are receiving the same  information and education program. Second, individuals are able to discuss and debate new and familiar ideas about values, rights, health, etc. with the people that matter most to  them, and to witness these discussions occurring. Third, modeling occurs--in which new  women leaders’ behaviors become new reference models for other women leaders, creating  an aspirational positive feedback loop. 

Applied Models: In addition to the power of relationships to support individual and community  transformation, the opportunity to apply learnings and skills in real-world circumstances also  catalyzes deep personal transformation. The applied model involves two key strategies:  

1. Hands-on opportunities to practice new skills and put new knowledge to work for the  benefit of others. This is even more ideal with the support of skilled mentors and  facilitators. 

Mentoring: having an experienced person share their own story of change and leading  the beneficiaries to think of moments when they have initiated change and tell it as a  story. This makes them realize that they are changemakers and get motivated to lead. 

We see people discovering the fact that they have agency, and can solve problems  working with their communities. People are realizing that they have been given talents,  calling and self-worth, and through that are gaining the confidence to become the  agents of change in their communities.  

People start initiatives which enable them to provide for their kids and their relationships  with neighbors. They feel empowered and influence others to have a good view of  themselves. The community initiatives are evidence of personal transformation because  they result from their own experience. Now they have different priorities than just  survival. 

2. Programs modeling integrity and respectful navigation of local customs and culture 

But what is most notable in our efforts is the communities’ direction of the project from  the beginning. They are the architects of the program and where they want to go with it. 

We also work slowly - on the time schedule of the local culture not on a Western time  schedule. 

What makes Street Business School different, is the amount of time we spend with  women, it is the relationship – the value of that is creating the outcome. How you show  up, how you react to people, how you relate to others with dignity and humility: Even the  language we choose to use matters – we use the term “coach” for both facilitators AND  participants. It honors that everyone will learn from each other. When we do a home  visit, the internal preparation begins when we wake that morning. We reflect on what  the community is like, how we will dress for making people comfortable, we prepare so  we are not reacting, we compliment people, we notice, we respond appropriately.

CONNECTION BETWEEN PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Several respondents described the links between personal and social transformation as a  rippling effect that starts with individual change that then affects the ecosystem at the  interpersonal and community levels. Personal change is so distinctly different for each  individual, and inner work is so diverse, we hesitate to draw any conclusions from our limited  survey that would suggest an exact formula for how personal transformation consistently  unfolds to influence social transformation on a systemic level (structures, norms, behaviors,  beliefs). Yet, a few patterns have emerged from the theories of change and anecdotal evidence  shared through our interviews in how the relationship might operate: 

Pathway 1: Inner shifts in self-beliefs (especially self-awareness, self-confidence and self efficacy) plus skills that can be applied (such as problem-solving, conflict-resolution,  communications) lead to shifts in personal healing and agency. These personal shifts have the  dual impact of influencing the positive choices of those participants that lead to greater  success, and changing the perspectives among the stakeholders around them regarding their  value. Examples: AMPLIFY, Enneagram Prison Project, Street Business School, DIG, Tostan 

One powerful outcome we tend to see from our programs is young people, and girls in  particular, feeling a sense of affirmation of their ideas and value within their families and  communities. Often for the first time being asked what their opinion is, being listened to  and having others respond to that opinion, is a hugely important step toward a sense of  self-worth and one’s right to advocate and influence based on their opinions. That  recognition of being someone who matters, adds value and can make important  contributions is a process that beings a transformation in young people and girls in  particular.  

…for young people and girls it’s very important to consider those around them that have  influence on their decisions (i.e., gatekeepers) like parents, siblings, teachers, local  leaders. These people, if also part of their own self-transformation into someone who  will be supportive of their son/daughter taking on a new, sometimes non-traditional,  role is a critical piece of the puzzle.  

Personal transformation in my experience is linked to both acquisition of necessary skills,  combined with opportunities to practice using those skills in ‘safe spaces’. Positive  experiences leading and taking action, build personal efficacy and the capacity for  personal transformation.  

DIG explicitly develops skills in restorative agriculture for uniquely vulnerable groups of  people. Those skills help fill gaps in the many systems that have kept them marginalized.  By working in groups that share certain vulnerabilities they build a network of support  that builds community and networks. As they gain experience and success, they can offer those learnings to their larger community which also raises their social identity and  confidence. Their resilience in food security and climate grounds them, allowing them to  develop new skills. But what is most notable in our efforts is the community direction of  the project from the beginning. They are the architects of the program and where they  want to go with it. DIG meets them where they are as equal partners.  

Pathway 2: Inner work fosters self-reflection, which leads to  individuals relating and leading differently (e.g., through wellbeing, emotional resilience, better  communications, openness, and collaboration). This inspires deeper trust and confidence in  their leadership, and also fosters a stronger sense of belonging, a culture of wellbeing, and a  supportive community that drives resilience, motivation and a sense of purpose.  Examples: Wellbeing Project, Amani Institute, Agora Partnerships 

It helps action groups stay together and work more effectively through better conflict  resolution, greater creativity and synergy, better communication and greater sense of  community.  

At this time of deeply intersectional awareness of movements, the ability to defuse and  de-escalate conflict certainly help political coalitions last longer without fragmenting, or  mend themselves when fragmentation does occur. 

In our theory of change, “local leadership is more confident, trust and credible” is a key  pathway and medium-term outcome, leading towards our eventual goal of community  self-reliance and resilience.  

We see the spiritual leadership and accompaniment skills offering more depth of  relationship with self and others through difficulty. We see more clear discernment of  vocation and call to action and greater resilience (ability to adapt)/less burnout. 

Pathway 3: Inner Work changes mindsets including an increased sense of agency and personal capacity, which when paired with a deeper sense of connection and belonging, this results in  an increased level of responsibility for others within the community and systemic shifts  fostered by broader civic engagement. Examples: Tostan, ComMutiny, World Vision, Plant with Purpose 

Deep Self-awareness of their own identity. Appreciation of diversity. Understanding and  practice of equality and justice in their own lives and also advocating for it in their  spaces. Asserting their ideas and actively engaging with them in a responsible way.  Sense of wellbeing and self-worth. Sense of ownership and engagement with the world  no matter what troubles and tragedies it brings. Conflict resolution abilities and  negotiating their own space in their friends, family and school circles…Better  relationships. Systems being and systems thinking…Empathy. Living their roles and  expanding and deepening them. Envisioning their own purpose and acting on their  personal goals and consistently review and remap them. 

More peace, compassion, and wisdom…To us, this is key for being able to not only Block  harm and oppression and Build structures for a more fair and peaceful society, but also  to develop the ability to Be with our suffering, collectively, in order to transform towards  awakening and liberation.  

Our theory of change is that personal peace impacts interpersonal peace, community,  and global peace.  

Jagrik- is a Hindi word we created - combining the idea of a Jagrik ( Aware) Jagrik (  Citizen) – The Jagrik is a self-awakened and aware and active citizen who is being the  change they are making in the world - so the idea of personal and social transformation  is captured in the word Jagrik.  

We see personal transformation as a key link in creating a virtuous cycle. Practically this  is borne out when individuals, churches and savings groups become the ongoing agents  of change in their communities. We have many stories of this occurring. For example, in  some of the rural areas of Haiti where we work, it was the savings groups who organized  

and led local relief efforts. This represents change on a couple of levels – both increased  agency and an increased sense of responsibility for others in the community.  

One respondent acknowledged that they are not always sure how (or whether) to integrate  inner work practices into community level work. 

It’s still a practice of the privilege(d). I've had several discussions with colleagues who are  seeking to take these practices beyond individual self-actualization and into collective  spaces, but we are struggling with how do this. 

Yet those who are doing the work point to meaningful, observable shifts in broader social  change. 

OUTCOMES 

Some survey respondents noted particular outcomes for the individuals and communities they serve. These were not broadly reported but suggest that more exploration is warranted to capture the full range of impacts that inner work and personal transformation may have once embraced as a viable strategy for promoting meaningful social change.

1. Shifts in gender roles, norms and outcomes for women and girls 

In the community members that we serve, we are seeing an increase in self-confidence  and esteem amongst women and girls. We are seeing males encouraging women to be  more independent, to become more educated, to be a part of the finances of the family  and to encourage women to be community leaders. 

My own work has surfaced a lot of insight regarding my own relationship to gender. This  in turn is driving my current work in gender equity and women's leadership  development.

We see an increase in girls and women engaging in society - whether in increased school  education, or increased community leadership, or increased attendance to our programs  = as an increase in empowerment and community support of our work. 

Our partner organizations/programs, see Agency contributing to a number of important  social impact outcomes, including increased economic empowerment (higher income,  economic security, etc), reduced early pregnancy/forced marriage, increased educational  attainment, and improved health and body autonomy. 

2. Greater resilience amongst change agents and the efforts they catalyze, and an ability  to be “translators” between different worlds (e.g., traditional and modern; spiritual and  social). 

It helps action groups stay together and work more effectively through better conflict  resolution, greater creativity and synergy, better communication and greater sense of  community.  

We solidly straddle between social movement and spiritual worlds (which sometimes feel  quite separate or even at odds), which helps us built the trust required for radical  activists to open ourselves to spiritual teachings despite histories of deeply harmful  betrayal and exploitation by dominant religious institutions — especially toward queer,  Black, Muslim, women, transgender, and other marginalized people. 

We see transformation in our staff on technical skills, capacity - building and knowledge  of program management and evaluation, a larger global perspective, increased  openness to different ways of life, faiths, ways of living. We also see confidence growing  in being community leaders, in how to respectfully transform and help change  traditional thoughts, on how to be 'translators' between traditional mentalities and  modern mentalities - respected cultural liaisons. 

3. Ripple effects beyond direct participants 

Increase in empowerment has manifested in more reports of abuse and having  community stakeholders respond without taking a bribe. We have also seen men seek us  out to inquire about how to be involved. 

We also see that young people are more willing and interested in working with local  leaders to undertake community service projects or request to be involved more directly  in local community development.  

There is no survey on the bigger social impact, but you can see it – there is an immediate  impact on entrepreneurs. We believe that the interior condition determines  outcomes…We look at how they are perceived by peers at seven years…they are seen as  navigating differently from others – more reflective, working on themselves and others. 

People notice when they come in with different tools on self-reflection and navigate  differently.  

CHALLENGES 

The challenges with measurement, however, contribute to ongoing zones of wishful thinking – gaps between theories of change and the ability to appropriately value and adequately learn  from what is or is not contributing to positive social change (and therefore worthy of ongoing  or increasing investment). Key challenges include:  

1. Personal Transformation is difficult to measure but there are early attempts – Almost no  one is measuring personal transformation consistently right now, but there are emerging  efforts to capture a definition, explore the mechanisms and/or propose metrics in several  areas including: hope, agency, community intelligence, trust, bridging leadership, social  capital and social cohesion, and wellbeing.  

In the Wellbeing [Project] Network we have conducted Learning Journeys, Delphi Studies  and track our member's and maker's wellbeing within our yearly Impact Survey. 

We've recently conducted our first formal evaluation on our work in Malawi, which looked  at community capacity, especially as it relates to leadership and trust. We have not yet  built monitoring of more personal or intrinsic change into our M&E system, but I'm hopeful  it is something we will have momentum to do or to at least explore in the near future.  

The questionnaire contained a version of the 16-item Oldenbourgh Burnout Inventory,  measuring the two most important factors of burnout: exhaustion and disengagement.  Following a process suggested by Peterson et al. (2008), we calculated four groups  according to their experience of burnout symptoms at the time of the survey. 

Where it is happening, it is almost exclusively qualitative. Some have given great effort to  measure more quantitatively but found the results inadequate to the task of fully valuing  the shifts that participants could describe and staff could see. 

In our accompaniment work, we experience the transformation through personal  relationship with the clients and their own accounts of the changes. Those relationships  feel important to hold as sacred beyond any surveys or formal data collection, so feedback  is anecdotal.  

Measuring spiritual change is notoriously hard. Some of the questions that attempt to get  at that and which make up part of our impact evaluations include the following: a. How  frequently do you help your neighbors? This is an attempt to measure behavior change  associated with spiritual growth. If we are called to love our neighbors, how often are we  really putting that into practice? …b. Do you feel that your work is a good use of your  talents? This is an attempt to determine the degree to which creativity and calling have been embraced by participants…c. Do you feel that your faith sustains you through difficult  circumstances? …We also use a “Most Significant Change” approach to measuring spiritual  change.  

2. Transformation is a long-term journey - This process is context-dependent and deeply  personal, which makes it nearly impossible to standardize metrics. There is resistance to the  possibility of going down this road to identify metrics only to have them be standardized  and enforced by funders in ways that are not applicable or aligned with local individual and  organizational experience.  

We have overinvested in measurement in the “silconvalleyism” of social entrepreneurship. As if it didn’t matter if it was not measured in the 1st quarter. Ninety percent of measurement is for the money of funders. Ten percent reaffirms the work, but  we don’t really need evidence if it is working. What is important is that we have to find  how to help them have the energy to do their work best, learn and grow. The journey of  the leader – self-mastery, relationship of the ego, the ability to reflect – the key is how  we can be supporting people that work versus measuring if some intervention works.  The people together create culture. People learn from each other…We should focus on  leadership not project-based interventions…The best culture is one of humble leaders,  building community and partnerships. What we need is the [Benjamin] Franklin model of  leadership (what funders should be supporting) versus the Mark Zuckerberg model (blitz  scale even if you are not ready, regardless of the net impact to the planet and the moral  foundation) versus the small but beautiful concept. We don’t create social change by  scaling sh*t. That is surface-level. We need to go deep and transform, but we don’t  really know for sure what that will look like because we change the whole trajectory of  life.  

This is hard to measure with a control group or RCT, etc. There is always a feedback  delay in how it works and a continuous unpacking process. We give curiosity and the  capacity to navigate, then give a buffet of tools to choose from. After training, we survey  at one and five years – people attribute significance for how they have changed and how  they approach themselves and their work due to the inner journey curriculum…They  remember they are navigating the inner journey long term and asking new questions of  themselves like – is this good for myself right now, even if I have to leave the impact  sector to go back to the private sector? It helps them develop perspective, self-care. This  is part of a larger community giving support – a sense of belonging, that they have a  sense of trust, shared language and values. Shared hope. This is an antidote to cynicism  – it supports resilience so that they can keep going.  

Standard screening tools like the PCL-17 [a tool for measuring PTSD] are not helpful as  they do not describe the real healing journey. Surveys help explain what was effective in workshops…With qualitative knowledge we could acknowledge each persons’ own path  and could determine how to do different things with that experience. We need to break the myth about transformation – the Western idea that there is one way to show how  adversity or trauma impacts a human being…It looks different for each person.  

3. Participatory methods are essential, but time and capital intensive – It is necessary to  ensure this is not a concept or process driven by only Western, privileged perspectives. Context matters. Measurement strategies pushed upon programs may only serve to  reinforce oppression and disempower beneficiaries. Yet participatory methodologies  require training, the building of rapport, time for implementation, and the funding needed  to carry out such processes to completion with adequate feedback loops so they are not  just extractive and transactional. 

Grassroots organizations have been shut out of the discussions that measure their own  effectiveness and success. By doing this, global actors have denied community-driven  organizations a seat at the table where success is defined, best practices are established,  and ultimately, where investment strategies are created…We consider participatory  evaluation to be instrumental in terms of accurately measuring outcomes at the local  level, and ensuring that the impact of local solutions are appropriately represented in  the menu of option considered in the global policy agenda… (Sidle et al., 2020,  “Measuring Girls Agency in East Africa: Co-Creating Contextually Specific Tools for  Evaluation: Lessons from the AMPLIFY Girls Collective”) 

Our theory of change asserts that transformation occurs from the bottom up, from  engaging over time with a trained, culturally congruent facilitator who teaches a  sequenced curriculum that invites participants to vision a collective future and deliberate  about the values that will create well-being in the community at the onset of the  program…Tostan’s program builds communities’ knowledge, self-efficacy and capacity for collective action so that they themselves can lead sustained development activities in  line with their own vision of community well-being and human dignity… We are unable  to track on our survey the same respondents over the three-year period, so we cannot measure the same individual’s responses to the baseline, midline, or endline survey. The  best data that we have on personal transformation is qualitative. 

4. Funding gaps – There is an overarching interest in working long-term and collaborating to  change the paradigm of how goals are measured and funding is invested towards real  transformation, yet conventional funding seeks short-term outputs within annual grant  cycles that do not allow adequate resources for understanding or assessing deeper inner  shifts. 

Front-line Organization: For funders, case studies are not enough. They need numbers to  go with…[but] these tools are not helpful, like how the overhead percentage is not  indicative of success… Also, there is a problem with these measurements in terms of  timing – sometimes it can take a lifetime to heal, and that is not measured within a  grant cycle.

Funder: Some [metrics] are difficult to quantify and get out of your beneficiaries. We  share the idea and strongly believe that the bedrock for any project is to analyze  outcomes and change projects based on their impact. That is more popular, but not the  norm.  

Funder: Intensive programs are hard because they are expensive. It is hard for donors to  realize that trainings are not effective if you are just dropping information and expecting  people to absorb it and take it out into the world… So, looking at the how and why will  be tangible justification for future donors. Then they can know this work not just from  anecdotes. It’s all in the data and impact that we can communicate…Some donors are  apprehensive…It seems new and sexy to include any personal development or  mindfulness in the international development space, but donors are not sure how to  measure the impact of all those activities. If you can reinforce the linkage…it will be very  helpful.

MEASUREMENTS 

The measurement of personal transformation among respondents has been almost entirely  qualitative. Few metrics are being assessed quantitatively, and while many are looking for or  developing tools to help establish a common approach, caution is advised by some  respondents. Their concern involves measuring what is a very diverse experience that is  personal, multi-faceted, and context-dependent.

The qualitative methods used most  frequently by respondents include:  

• Self-reports 

• Observation 

• Stories 

• Focus groups and interviews 

• No formal measurement systems 

Metrics that are being assessed within qualitative or quantitative approaches include: 

• Attitudes and beliefs - confidence, hope, optimism 

• Skills - communication, decision-making 

• Behavior change – taking on more challenging problems 

• Participation - in programs, community projects, leadership roles, advocacy

• Agency - self-governance, leadership, self-belief, environmental beliefs

• Voice - having a voice in their home or community 

Also mentioned but less commonly, include measures of: 

• Burnout risk - exhaustion, disengagement, depression 

• Perception of others - 360 feedback from parents, teachers, peers 

• Life circumstances - delayed pregnancy, delayed marriage, ability to earn a living wage,  improvements in drug use, recidivism rates, and changes in other risky behavior

• Community capacity

Examples of endeavors to improve measurement methods and tools include:  

● AMPLIFY: AMPLIFY is a collective of 18 organizations working on agency among adolescent  girls in East Africa. Together they have developed an operational definition of agency and  have developed and tested a survey instrument for measuring agency. AMPLIFY used a  participatory and group concept mapping process to identify successes for girls. The  coalition characterizes agency as the ability of girls to affect change in their own lives and  the world, which is made up of positive self-beliefs and concrete skills. The approach allows  agency to be adaptable to each local context, where organizations can identify the skills  and beliefs that matter for girls. The self-report Sidle AMPLIFY Agency tool was developed  collectively and tested for validity among AMPLIFY members. It includes four internally facing (self-efficacy, self-esteem) and externally-facing (empowerment and positive gender  attitudes) belief metrics and eleven internally and externally facing skills metrics (including  problem-solving, decision-making, self-awareness, interpersonal communications, conflict  resolution skills, etc.). It was found that individual skills are less important than the  overarching capacities that the skills represent, such as self-governance or self-belief.  

● Ihangane Project: The Ihangane Project works in the realm of primary healthcare delivery,  primarily material child healthcare, in Rwanda. They recognize that the quality and  successes of maternal and child health depend on the ability of local healthcare workers to  encourage healthy behaviors for preventative care. This, in turn, is driven by the level of  hopefulness among healthcare workers and the community members. Hope is defined as  “interconnectedness, readiness for change, and future-oriented mindset”. The Hope  Initiative of the Ihangane Project is working to adapt the Hert Hope Index into the local  language and context in Rwanda, the first adaptation and validation of the tool in a low income country.  

● Tostan: Arjan Appadurai’s approach to visioning, what he calls "the capacity to aspire" has  influenced Tostan’s approach. Tostan works in clusters of 50 communities over three years,  with local communities reaching out and “adopting” others. Tostan has found that in many  cases, individuals cannot on their own sustain changes without the support of community.  Tostan’s curriculum is designed so that participants learn the skills and abilities needed to  accomplish their goals. Tostan creates new roles for community members to inhabit,  frequently for the first time and trains them in fulfilling these new roles. For example,  learning one has the right to a “voice” is paired with practice in participation (gradually over  time) so that women develop the capacity to call meetings and lead them in their  communities. Tostan then evaluates the tangible changes communities make in improving  governance, health, education, economic activities, environment cleanliness, etc. What is  intangible is the pride taken by the community in accomplishing their goals and their  motivation to continue transforming their communities for the better. Tostan’s theory of  change sees individual/personal agency and capacities and collective agency and capacities  and corresponding transformations as intertwined. Measurement is qualitative conducted  through focus groups and interviews around social norms – attitudes, perceptions and  beliefs. Personal transformation and its link to social change occurs along three paths: (1) women’s participation reshapes public debate, (2) women’s leadership and agency drives  collective agency, and (3) individual efforts translate into coordinated actions with support  so people are not alone in problem-solving and social pressure supports collective change. 

● Opportunity International: The Holistic Community Assessment Approach designed by  Opportunity International involves a multidimensional qualitative, story-telling approach  that explores how people have experienced or contributed to change in their community,  environment, family relationships, self, and relationship to God. Each set of personal stories  allows for insights to be mined from a unique community context that can demonstrate  challenges, levers for social change, and solutions or starting points for interventions that  lead to specific outcomes. Qualitative responses can be scored to provide rubrics adapted  to a local context that can be analyzed across a region. While the method has not been  used in a systematic longitudinal study yet to pinpoint trends in the relationship between  personal transformation and social change, insights from across stories have indicated  values such as trust, hope, and solidarity are important. The theory is that with a values based curriculum, deeply held motivations can connect to and drive behavior change.  

● The Enneagram Prison Project (EPP): EPP is developing a 53-question survey crafted from  their own experience to measure eight domains of personal transformation, including self awareness, tolerance, self-regulation, self-compassion, appreciation of others, behavior  toward others, support and self-care. They theorize that self-compassion plus self regulation work together to allow for self-compassion to come online, bringing you into a  level of tolerance for your own thoughts, feelings and sensations. Most incarcerated  individuals with whom EPP works never developed the capacity for self-regulation because  they did not have attachment and mirroring from a loving caretaker. The individual work  paired with the therapeutic bond with a program guide, enables the participant to heal and  move into a capacity for self-parenting. As the incarcerated student heals, they are  perceived and treated differently, leading to a “shift in caring” by the entire correctional  system.  

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Respondents identified a number of needs and opportunities for adding value to the process of  measuring personal transformation and social change. Recommendations include:  

1. There is a need for measurement work to focus on the value derived from personal  transformation, rather than (or alongside) what impact is being achieved. Using a valuation approach aligns with theories of change better than an objective assessment of impact,  which may inadvertently reinforce a lack of self-belief, such as by imposing externally defined measures of how successful beneficiaries have been in exhibiting change in  themselves and community. 

2. Because what measures is what matters, it is important to be selective in tracking a small  and readily measurable set of long-term indicators. However, it is also valuable to allow for outcome divergence among those indicators. 

3. Begin with beneficiaries. If they name and prioritize their desired outcomes at individual,  interpersonal, community, social levels – and that generates the first layer of measurement  of “success” – perhaps that might be valued by funders differently. 

4. Build NGO-researcher-funder partnerships. NGOs lack capacity and funding for deeper  clinical research. Researchers cannot generate learning without real world contexts. Neither  can operate without resources. A deeper investigation must be conducted together. There  is interest in collaboration. 

5. Cultivate networks to accelerate learning from the field to academia and back again. There  is an eagerness to do so. There are substantial collectives already looking closely at how  agency (AMPLIFY), community intelligence (CQ and Tostan), wellbeing (Wellbeing Project),  and personal transformation (Global Grassroots, Synergos, and the Presencing Institute’s  Social Field Research initiative) connect to social change. 

6. Help identify ways to measure that are not just quantitative and data based. Identify more  examples of methodologies and systems for monitoring and evaluating qualitative impact. 

Though it was outside the scope of this survey, we also believe it will be valuable to investigate  more deeply the actual tools and practices of organization-driven inner work, including how  they are introduced in a range of contexts, the duration and frequency with which they are  practiced, what level of instruction and support is offered, the timeframe over which they are  used, which stakeholders are involved, whether they are practiced in solitude or community,  and any other defining feature of inner work programs, their link to personal transformation  and social transformation.

CONCLUSION 

According to our respondents, inner work works. Inner work affects individuals - like turning on  the pilot light, either for the first time or after it has been extinguished by oppression, learned  helplessness, trauma, disillusionment, or burnout – and fosters positive personal  transformation. Personal transformation then becomes the fuel for greater hope, optimism,  purpose, agency, wellbeing, belonging, and prosocial engagement towards positive social  change. Combined with practical skills, opportunities for applied hands-on learning, and  relational support (peer mentors, guides, ethical support from trusted others), personal  transformation catalyzes more sustained, holistic social change efforts. This can transpire  through the mindset shifts and civic actions of individuals towards the common good, the  changed perspectives of stakeholders towards previously disempowered members, the trusted  and inspired leadership of self-aware change agents, and a sense of community that drives  systemic shifts towards collective wellbeing. While there are still challenges in measuring the  intangible nature of personal transformation and even more challenges in determining a direct  relationship with social change, there is growing enthusiasm for deeper collaboration towards a  common understanding of this intersection. We remain inspired to go deeper with this research and to foster collaboration towards the sharing of tools, practices and methodologies  that will further advance our collective understanding. We are excited to offer these initial  insights as a starting point for a broader conversation and look forward to the learnings and  feedback it may inspire. 

ADDITIONAL RESPONSE SUMMARIES BY TYPE

From Participants 

• Being together is refreshing, invigorating, therapeutic, nourishing 

• Participants report increased self-awareness; are able to talk about their own journey

• More capable and powerful; can jump into the unknown 

• More aware of others’ preferences and ways of working 

• Able to see themselves through other peoples' eyes 

• Realize it could be possible to do something they love that's good for the world

• Feel clear about and connected to their purpose 

• Personal transformation is sometimes very difficult work 

• Not a short-term process; sometimes years before one feels theeffects

• Loving/supportive community matters a lot; "makes me feel lesslonely"

• Value a combination of inner work and applying learning day today 

• Forces one to be more intentional about behavior 

• Moving away from being transactional 

• Developed shared value with other changemakers 

• Realized changemakers are people too 

• Being believed in by an organization can help get others in community onboard 

From Organizational Leaders 

• Difficulty measuring inner change is clear 

• Leaders are looking for changes in vision, agency, empowerment, confidence, hope

• Also active listening, being responsive to others, drug/alcohol use, insomnia, behavior  change, wellness in individual and community members 

• Some use a variety of tools, yet know they are not able to show all of the change happening

• Some groups are researching/creating new tools/measures 

• Concerns about science, research, measurements being drawn primarily from white, western populations 

• See value in participants/beneficiaries defining outcomes for themselves

• Interested in collaborating with Global Grassroots on this project 

From Funders 

• Open and curious about connection between inner work and social change; understanding  of what that means and what it looks like is needed 

• Believe measuring personal transformation is hard; not sure it can be done or done well;  wonder about validity of measures 

• Some intangible concepts like "leadership" are more familiar  

• Powerful to hear beneficiaries (women, girls) speak about their experiences and projects; yet also want to see concrete evidence of impacts (i.e., education) 

• Interested in long-term outcomes for individuals and communities  

• Suggestion: Picking 3-5 measures, set up measurement systems in advance, stick with them; then add stories and other evidence to that picture