I work on ending homelessness in Concord, NH. Why? Because it gives meaning to my life. Working on this issue is a privilege. It is a gift really. Victor Frankl asserted that the key to surviving Auschwitz was having something yet to do with his life–something that gave his life meaning. This work on homelessnessContinue reading “It’s not about Justice, It’s about what’s Possible”
Category Archives: prosocial
Homeless (In)Stability System Performance
What is current performance of the Concord Housing (In)Stability System? The performance of the Concord Housing (In)Stability System can be described in a number of ways–outcomes for the beneficiaries of a system, effectiveness (user benefit), efficiency (ratio of output to inputs), stakeholder satisfaction, etc. The numbers are difficult to come by. And every estimate comesContinue reading “Homeless (In)Stability System Performance”
Is Ending Homelessness a Commons?
Why is ending homelessness in our community an example of a commons? There are many agencies, institutions and government departments in the Concord, NH community working on some facet of the prevention, service and resolution of homelessness. The diagram shows numerous purpose-driven groups working hard on one or more parts of the system–social services, publicContinue reading “Is Ending Homelessness a Commons?”
Seen any lately? What is a commons?
What is a commons? From medieval times, commons referred to any resource used together with others–grazing land, forests, water use. From modern times it has been described as any common pool natural resource, such as fishing rights, irrigation, pastures. The “tragedy of the commons” as described by Garrett Hardin in 1968 is that if notContinue reading “Seen any lately? What is a commons?”
Improvement vs. Evolution
Improvement science has guided my health improvement work for more than three decades. Deming’s definition of a system includes the critical understanding that a system’s outputs (results) are a function of the attributes of the system itself–“Every system is perfectly designed to give the results it gets.” (Outcomes, the impact or import of outputs forContinue reading “Improvement vs. Evolution”
NH Collective Health Impact 