Why Ignoring Soft Infrastructure in Technical Projects Often Leads to Failure
November 6-8, 2023
Technology Association of Grantmakers 2023
Teri Garstka, Ph.D. & David Goodman, Ph.D.
Many technical projects in the public and social sector fail at the adoption and utilization stage because the technology wasn’t designed to solve a problem people have - it was designed to fill a technical specification. We propose that projects involving ‘Hard Infrastructure’ – data systems, tech stacks, tools, software products - have the best chance of being successful when it is combined with ‘Soft Infrastructure’ - adaptive skills, broad expertise, field experience, and relational acumen. Research has shown that successful implementation, adoption, and sustained use of a technology is predicated on type and quality of change management factors. Those include: shared vision and strategy, clear purpose and value, intuitive design and training, collaborative governance and modified workflows, accountability and ownership at all levels, and the will to embrace change. Accelerating public or social sector innovation requires adopting an Infrastructure as a Service model that is more holistic and designed to meet public and social sectors where they are. Soft infrastructure focuses on the people preconditions that are absolutely critical for any hard technology solution to survive post-launch. We discuss the evidence, the failures, and the successes we met along the way.
When we refer to how technology plays a role in transformative change, what we mean by that is:
The ways in which technology can be used to enable change beyond its specific purpose AND as a result of its implementation
Tech multiplier – a bonus result of a) the technology serving its original purpose and b) creating or inspiring change because of its use. We think this happens when technology hits on the three things:
1. It reflects the community it serves, is co-designed or adapted by community for novel use, and it connects people, places or things to form and affirm relationships
2. It benefits all through its use and it is aligned with a communities’ shared values. It also supports the shared value each user derives from interacting and collaborating with others through the technology.
3. And finally, technology should solve a shared problem – one that is recognized widely, easily identified by the community. It should help create new solutions and innovation to solve that problem and others that arise.
