Our Approaches
Elevating the voices of traditionally marginalized people with our powerful tools and methodologies
Build-Win-Sustain Framework
The B-W-S Framework is comprised of three interlocking objectives—build, win, sustain—and four change levers—re-norm, reform, depolarize, mobilize—that together offer both a map and a method for strengthening democratic resilience.Drawing on extensive research, the Build–Win–Sustain (B-W-S) Framework offers a 
clear, actionable model for advancing democratic resilience through interconnected, iterative strategies. Strategies are organized around three interlocking objectives:
- BUILD - Create partnerships, coalitions, strategies, campaigns, and capacity needed to activate change.
- WIN - Turn strategy into visible successes such as electoral reforms, new policies, or active civic participation.
- SUSTAIN - Keep wins alive by reinforcing trust, pre-bunking misinformation, maintaining civic education, and embedding reforms.
Objectives are achieved by through four change levers:
- Re-norm - Strengthen shared expectations for fair, civil behavior.
- Reform - Improve transparency, fairness, and responsiveness of governance.
- Depolarize - Bridge divides and rebuild social trust.
- Mobilize - Empower grassroots leadership and citizen participation.
Together, the three objectives and four levers function like gears in a democratic system, guiding those who believe democracy can be renewed through collective action, not complacency.
Peer-Driven Change
Peer-Driven Change leverages lived experiences, data, and the influence of pioneering peers—community members who have successfully overcome challenges—to inspire and drive change.
Peer-Driven Change (PDC) is a transformative approach that places local actors at the center of the social change process, recognizing them as the true experts in understanding their community's needs and strengths. Developed by Mauricio Lem Miller, PDC draws on interdisciplinary insights from Paulo Freire, Robert Chambers, and Amartya Sen, grounding the approach in theories of participatory development, social capital, and self-determination. PDC emerged to counter the flaws in traditional development models that cast NGOs and social workers as "heroes." This paradigm undermined local initiative and fostered dependency. An essential aspect of PDC is harnessing the powerful influence exerted by social networks—families, friends, and neighbors—in shaping decisions and behaviors.
Root Change, in partnership with Mauricio Miller, is advancing PDC through programming rooted in three core concepts:
- Self-determination and initiative: Individuals and families drive their own upward mobility.
- Mutual support: Communities share knowledge and resources based on the successes of pioneering peers.
- Financial capital: Individuals and families create a pooled investment fund.
This combination of self-led action, collective learning, and shared financial resources makes PDC a highly effective and attractive approach. In Malawi, our Community Independence Initiative (CII) is a prime example of PDC in action. Instead of offering services or advice, we provide a structure for families to set their own goals and strengthen social networks that support their progress. As a result, we are seeing almost a threefold increase in household income in just 12 months. CII participants keep monthly family journals where they record important information about their lives including changes in income, employment, education, and overall well-being. Journal entries are then analyzed and used by families to make informed decisions about the strategies they will pursue to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.
Social Labs
Social Labs bring together diverse people and organizations to identify community problems and co-design solutions, which are then tested through rapid experimentation cycles.
One of the key principles of Social Labs is radical equality. The model therefore starts by bringing diverse people and organizations into one room and finding common ground. From local government, civil society and activist groups to funders, NGOs and individual youth, Social Labs emphasize contributions and perspectives from all. Participants identify key issues, brainstorm potential interventions, form topical teams based on interest, and test and continuously refine their ideas and actions based on feedback and learning. Once formed, Social Lab teams work in two-month cycles to design, test, and adapt lean experiments, or small action research interventions. Each two-month experiment cycle is carried out in close collaboration with community members and supported by a small grant to cover transportation, communication, and convening costs. These resources are not intended to fund project activities but to facilitate the collective experimentation and learning process.
Social Labs offer a space for learning not only within individual teams as they carry out their experiments, but also across multiple teams. The approach emphasizes shared learning and reflection, bringing together the various teams within a Lab after every 2-month cycle to share experiences, celebrate learning, and adapt ideas and designs for the next experimentation cycle. In our Social Lab projects, there are often 2-4 Labs happening simultaneously, so the Social Lab model also brings together participants and teams from multiple Labs roughly once a year for even more widespread learning, collaboration, and idea sharing.
The Cluster & Anchor Model for Collective Impact
Root Change’s Cluster and Anchor Model overcomes the challenge of scaling Collective Impact by enabling multiple initiatives to launch simultaneously, while ensuring they coordinate and learn together for greater effectiveness.
Our Cluster and Anchor model brings together diverse organizations into collaborative clusters, each anchored by a backbone organization that facilitates and convenes rather than directs. The anchor organization 'leads from behind,' maintaining a neutral space while leveraging its credibility, connections, and sector expertise to mobilize the partnership, build trust, and coordinate roles and responsibilities. These clusters include a wide range of actors, from civil society organizations and community groups to businesses and government agencies. Together, they contribute a unique blend of skills, services, knowledge, and influence, all essential for collectively understanding and strategizing effective solutions.
Root Change employs this Cluster and Anchor model in conjunction with complexity-aware tools and methodologies to build and sustain highly contextualized, locally-led collective action initiatives. What sets our approach apart is its ability to support multiple clusters, each pursuing its own agenda, which allows us to scale up collective impact by advancing multiple tracks simultaneously. For instance, in Nigeria, as many as 18 clusters have collaborated on collective impact initiatives, loosely coordinated to maximize their effectiveness. We guide clusters in planning focused, short-term joint activities that promote collaboration and hands-on learning. Additionally, we gather and use data on relationships, strategies, and outcomes to highlight and build on the strengths of all cluster members, fostering collective wisdom and co-creation. This model has earned wide recognition from partners and governments for its ability to influence national and regional policy while fostering both individual and collective growth.
The STAR System Strengthening Suite
STAR (System for Transformation and Results) is a comprehensive tool suite and change process for improved organizational performance, more effective networking, and increased data-driven decision making.
STAR begins with an interactive, discussion-rich self-assessment that focuses on "drivers," or key performance areas that are closely linked to impact. By gathering evidence and participating in a facilitated discussion, participants identify their strengths and weaknesses in relation to these drivers, which are used to prioritize areas of improvement. Using a coaching model and progress tracking tools and templates, organizations or groups of organizations develop plans promoting lean experimentation, adaptive management, Agile principles, and continuous improvement. A collective action tool offers users a robust guide for advancing shared advocacy agendas and tracking outcomes. Surveys capture the ripple effects of changes and effect size of program interventions. Constituent Voice feedback loops further help users capture the impact of their collective action efforts and progress on organizational performance goals. Pando helps users analyze trust, social capital, and influence, and is used as a tool for strategic partnering.
STAR’s customizable tools and flexible processes have been proven successful in many different contexts and settings. The tool suite helps civil society organizations, collective action campaigns and networks improve impact and achieve sustainable social change. Participating organizations have advanced their advocacy agendas and policy campaigns, formed high-impact partnerships, gained greater access to resources, and strengthened connections across the network. The unique advantage of STAR lies in its ability to empower both individual organizations and coalitions of organizations to set their own goals and track shared progress, making it a powerful tool for strengthening both organizational and collective action efforts.
Pando Systems Analysis
Our Pando Tool Suite combines social network analysis, constituent voice feedback, analytic dashboards, and stakeholder dialogue to assess power structures, trust levels, collaboration practices, and communication gaps within local systems.
Root Change developed the Pando Tool Suite to co-generate network maps with local stakeholders and gather relationship data from participating organizations to uncover actionable insights. Through this dynamic approach, stakeholders not only contribute to the maps but also benefit from a deeper understanding of their interconnected relationships, facilitating meaningful dialogue about local collaboration and influence. Users can explore the network map to identify potential partners, understand their position within the network, and track how the network evolves over time. The platform’s iterative data collection process allows participants to invite other organizations they interact with, which helps the network map grow organically. This continuous expansion results in a dynamic, living map that accurately reflects the evolving nature of real-world ecosystems.
Pando is built on over 15 years of experience and expertise in system analysis and strengthening, leading to the development of two distinct analytical modules—the Localization Learning System and the Equity Index. These advanced tools assess whether external actors are genuinely fostering local ownership and amplifying local voices within the system. The addition of the Network Foundations report offers fresh insights into network resilience, providing critical information on trusted messengers, resource hubs, and a deeper understanding of network cohesion, gaps, trust levels, and potential for smart partnerships. Pando’s comprehensive approach fosters richer dialogue and deeper learning among map participants and stakeholders, enhancing their understanding of the local system's dynamics and uncovering opportunities for improvement.
Learning and Strategy Summits
Our learning and strategy summits help participants challenge the status quo and embrace a growth mindset that sparks innovation, creates a call to action, and expands impact.
The typical learning and strategy summit is conducted with and for a partner organization or coalition of actors immersed in addressing challenging issues such as electoral violence, community resilience in the face of shocks and stresses, or systemic marginalization. Summit participants usually include partner staff, external influencers, thought leaders, and representatives of key constituencies and the format emphasizes hearing from all voices. Summits provoke thoughtful discussion through such activities as scenario analysis, participatory budget simulations, value chain mapping, timeline building, case study sharing, real-time data analysis, message testing, and ripple mapping through storytelling. All activities are participatory, hands on, spark creativity, and break down barriers among participants.
Our partners report that summits lead them to refine strategies and tactics, improve their advocacy work, enhance their outreach, effectively engage in movement building, and leverage learning to tackle increasingly complex challenges. Summits promote adaptive management and context-aware planning as new strategic options are generated and assessed. They are used to co-create action plans and build buy-in from all parties. Additionally, the summits support the development of an organizational culture that prizes learning, promoting innovation, and building stronger stakeholder relationships.
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