Rethinking How to Finance System Health
<p>In the story “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIJBUZm1HoY" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Which Way to Millinocket</a>,” a tourist is lost on the backroads of Maine and stops to ask a local for directions. After several frustrating attempts to find a route to Millinocket, the local says in resignation, “Come to think of it, you can’t get there from here.” A frustrating truth for those working to improve the health of complex systems is much the same. We can’t get there from here — funding that goes mainly to programs built to solve individual problems will not lead to healthier systems.¹ ²</p>
<p>This kind of project-level funding, also known as funding point solutions, is appropriate to address urgent and immediate needs, such as responding to crises like the Covid pandemic or a houseless population at risk from exposure. However, they are insufficient when addressing the underlying systemic drivers that continue to fuel these urgent needs. It’s like working to ameliorate the painful symptoms of polio but not doing anything to eradicate the disease. To put it bluntly, if the only means for providing financial support for system health work is to fund point solutions, then we will fail.</p>
<p><a href="https://blog.kumu.io/rethinking-how-to-finance-system-health-7170f4bf9074"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>