How Change Happens

Appendix A: Research Parameters

THE DRIVING QUESTION behind the research for How Change Happens was: Why do some movements succeed while others don’t? We wanted to understand why successful movements triumphed and others did not, with the specific purpose of extracting insights that could be applied by today’s changemakers to advance causes.

Research for this book was led by author Leslie Crutchfield, who was joined by twenty-one colleagues and graduate student assistants who made up the How Change Happens research team. This team was housed at the Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Founded by Professor of the Practice Bill Novelli in 2011, GSEI delivers research, education, and actionable solutions that drive shared social, environmental, and financial impact. The GSEI team is currently comprised of sixteen Georgetown staff and affiliated project leaders, and thirty-nine GSEI student leaders participate in the academic year 2018. For the How Change Happens research project, seven graduate student researchers contributed to the project on a work-study basis. All team members are recognized in the Acknowledgments.

Research for How Change Happens began in earnest in 2015, when Leslie Crutchfield joined the GSEI team as a senior research fellow. Working closely with Bill Novelli and former GSEI Executive Director Ladan Manteghi, supported by the team of seven graduate student researchers, Crutchfield has spent nearly ...