Here's how you can navigate forward after a major setback in a social impact project.

Setbacks are not roadblocks, but rather stepping stones to greater achievements. A thorough and candid reflection on past projects, free from blame, can reveal invaluable insights. By evaluating the goals, strategies, and execution honestly, you can pinpoint the strengths to enhance and the weaknesses to rectify. Embrace each setback as an opportunity to refine your strategy and fortify your commitment to creating meaningful social impact. Remember, the most profound lessons often come from the most challenging experiences.

Setbacks happen and are an important part of growth and knowledge process for any individual or organisation. When encountering a setback, it is important to take time to understand and identify why the setback occurred. When faced with a setback, and after having dealt with it, take time to unpack the situation. Involve all those necessary and have a feedback session: 1. Why did the situation arise? 2. Could it have been mitigated? 3. If so, how can you mitigate it in the future? 4. What have you learnt from the setback? 5. Additional comments and feedback relating. Once the reason for the setback has been identified and the feedback session concluded, make sure to identify similar situations in the future to avoid anything similar.

Career setbacks are challenging. Whether you lost your job or didn’t get the promotion you were working towards, these hurdles often bring difficult emotions. By understanding the potential impacts of career setbacks, you can begin crafting a recovery plan that helps you navigate your way forward and may lead you to an even better career opportunity. From staying motivated to leveraging your network to gaining expert insights from a career coach (and much more), here’s what you need to know to navigate career setbacks and disappointments effectively.

Na minha experiência é na prática que aprendemos as coisas. Se houve um revés é porque houve coragem. Então, a tarefa é analisar o ocorrido, ouvir os feedbacks e refazer a rota e recomeçar.

Não apontar culpados é a cartada de mestra de uma boa gestão de conflitos ou crises, pois nosso objetivo final não é nos eximir de responsabilidade apontando a de outra pessoa, e sim resolver uma situação ou aprender com os reveses.

When I worked in an international organisation and helped to implement projects in the Middle East, I learned something really important: you can't create impact (social or/and economic) if you don't listen to local voices. It seems something really simple but international organisations -most part of the time - don't think about how the political and economic local context have a huge impact in their projects. Everything is interconnected and, if you real about the changes that you want to promote, even though you don't achieve the planned goals, don't give up. Educate and promote systemic changes takes time and an active listening process can be really helpful to review goals and improve the next phase.

Go back to the drawing board and see the cause of the setback. Is it due to a wrong hypothesis, poor execution or an exogenous change. Accordingly recalibrate strategy ahead. Resilience is key for social impact organizations and setbacks should be dealt with courage, analysis and ability to delay gratification.

Always think about the big picture, the why when you start the project and why you are working in the specific community and/or country. It's not that you program didn't work, but adjustment are necessary as social impact is organic and you have to be open to changes in the middle of the process.

In my social enterprise, setbacks tested our resolve, but they also united us. When faced with challenges, we held open discussions with our partners, brainstorming and collaborating on solutions. These moments not only strengthened our alliances but also reinforced our resilience. If you can't be open and honest with your partners, they'll find out eventually and the partnership will be dissolved.

If you are a funder, be consistent with your funding policy. The results from social impact take time to happen but they happen. Let's face that we are working with human begins that face other challenges in their daily lives. For example: if you are working with young people to get better job opportunities, my questions would be: are we working with the whole system or just one part of the system? Sometimes, it's not about your program but a new policy from the gov that has just arrived and you need to adapt to ir (or the organisation that you give financial support). In cases like this, be consistent with your partners if you really want to see real changes.

Building resilience is a habit and you don't realise just how much you need it until things go south. However, there are some life hacks you can implement, such as: Practice self-care by getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising regularly. Cultivate a positive mindset through gratitude and focusing on strengths. Set realistic goals and break them into manageable steps. Foster strong relationships for support. Learn from setbacks and view them as opportunities for growth. Stay flexible and adapt to change. Engage in mindfulness or meditation to stay grounded. Above all, just keep moving forward with determination.

Planeje, planeje, planeje. Planeje o que pode dar errado também, faça uma matriz de risco e já tenha um roteiro pronto para isso, seja uma questão com o financiamento do projeto ou uma crise com outro stakeholder importante.

Moving forward is the hardest. You can either move forward with the changes that were the cause of the setbacks, or move forward in a totally new direction. Both requires humility, honesty, and support from trusted advisors, friends and family. In looking back, I would also strongly seek counselling or therapy as a precaution to take care of your mental health.

Again, look at your big picture and the goal of your theory of change. this is the most important. If you work with social change, give time for the change and you will see an amazing impact.

It is rare for a social impact project to completely "fail" as there are always insights and impacts. The key question is: "Are the potential results justified by the resources required?" Start with an honest program assessment and seek input from internal and external stakeholders, focusing on the target audience to identify gaps. Use smaller pilot projects before a general launch or after an assessment to gather information and feedback before committing significant resources. Approach the issue diagnostically and honestly, determine required resources, and present your findings. Even if a project is discontinued, the insights gained are invaluable for future initiatives.