Reboot

Reboot is a social impact firm dedicated to inclusive development and accountable governance. They work with governments, foundations, and civil society to achieve their missions. MISSION The foundation of governing legitimacy and collective prosperity, a social contract is inclusive by definition. Yet too often, outdated institutions of governance exclude too many people from the political processes, economic opportunities, and services that can make tangible improvements in their lives. The possibilities for inclusive development and accountable governance are growing alongside their ability as citizens to access information, organize, and input. So too are their expectations. But their governing institutions rarely keep pace with these changes. Their social contract is due for renegotiation. Reboot is working at the forefront of these transitions. They aspire to see relationships between institutions and individuals defined by more inclusive policies, accountable programs, and effective services. They believe these are the tenets on which a 21st century social contract can be built. From supporting good governance in Nigeria to human development in Nicaragua to civic innovation in the United States and beyond, they are dedicated to realizing them. APPROACH Realizing their mission demands context-driven interventions to meet the needs of diverse constituencies worldwide. They approach the task with versatility: in past projects, they have combined a variety of methods including user experience design, political economy analysis, applied ethnography, public economics, complexity theory, and data analysis. Though they tailor their methods to the challenge at hand, their work as a whole reflects a set of underlying principles that cut across each engagement. > Immersion Immersion enables empathy, and empathy enables the insights that drive breakthrough solutions. Reboot embed within the communities and institutions with whom they work to seed this critical learning process. Deep contextual understanding of history, environment, and stakeholders serves as the foundation to all of their work. > Collaboration Good solutions are foremost rooted in local ownership and informed by local knowledge. They don’t pretend to be the experts within someone else’s context; rather, they act as facilitators and conveners. Whether serving as technical advisor, trainer, grantmaker, or incubator, they consistently engage the expertise of local collaborators to arrive at solutions together. > Iteration Design is iterative. A “final” design is one that hasn’t been tested enough. They continually test and fine-tune potential solutions to enhance their utility and usability. This is a process of careful listening and agile pivots aimed at developing solutions that can intuitively meet the needs of all users. SERVICES Reboot help their clients explore the origins of complex issues, design contextually appropriate interventions, bring these ideas to reality, and evaluate the results along the way. > Research They ground each project in immersive research to paint nuanced portraits of complex environments. Embedding with their clients, government, civil society, and other actors provides insights into the capacities and constraints of all stakeholders to an issue. Drawing on a wide range of research methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and participatory methods, they gain a holistic understanding of complex issues. Their research services include: Political Economy Analysis, User Experience Research, Institutional Ethnography, Surveying, Quantitative Analysis, Service Trials, Systems Mapping. > Design They design collaboratively to create policies, programs, and services that are tailored to both institutions and individuals alike. Designing hand-in-hand with institutions, communities, and other stakeholders creates shared ownership and contextually appropriate interventions. During this process of co-creation, each design concept is assessed through user testing, rapid prototyping, and iteration to ensure that it is well suited to the needs of where it will be deployed. Their design services include: Program Design, Service Design, Communications Design, UI/UX Design, Concept Development, Organizational Strategy, Communications Strategy, Strategic Planning, Facilitation. > Implement They use adaptive implementation informed by local knowledge to manage the shifting conditions of complex environments. Building flexibility and learning into their model, they are able to navigate challenging institutional structures, cultural norms, and political dynamics. Drawing on the expertise of on-the-ground teams and working closely with their partners further enables them to realize interventions that are responsive to context. Their implementation services include: Project Management, Grant Management, Brand Management, Organizational Development, Technical Capacity Development, Technology Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Communications, Training. > Evaluate They evaluate holistically to understand the human experiences that explain what interventions are working and why. Exploring outcomes through regular feedback loops, rather than simply measuring outputs, enables responsive learning and iteration to complex causal chains. Working with mixed methods evaluation frameworks that draw on applied ethnography, quantitative data analysis, and systems thinking surfaces insights the bias of statistical certainty might otherwise overlook. Their evaluation services include: Process Evaluation, Impact Evaluation, Real Time Evaluation, Participatory Evaluation, Mixed methods. TEAM They bring a range of skills and experience to fulfilling their mission. Reboot are builders, makers, and entrepreneurs; equal parts strategists and storytellers, anthropologists and economists; designers, technologists, and political scientists. They share global expertise and a passion for improving governance and development worldwide.