Chapter 7: Identifying the One
When you are done with this section, you’ll be able to...
Explain who “the one” is and why they matter.
Use affinity and proximity to identify the one or the social issue.
Construct an issue triangle to map out the population, geography, and issue.
INTRODUCTION
As explained previously, loving the one is the central principle of the Social Impact Cycle. It reminds those involved in social impact work that by improving the life of one specific individual, they can create solutions that will benefit a larger group or population. Loving the one is, however, different than identifying the one. This chapter will begin to explore how you can utilize specific strategies to identify the one in social impact work and how identifying the one lays the foundations for designing and implementing effective solutions.
WHO IS THE ONE?
The one is an individual directly involved in the social issue. They are firmly rooted in the affected community and understand the nuances of the social problem, usually because they’ve lived them.1 They are someone who grounds you to the cause and those it affects. The one is oftentimes a real person, possibly someone you’ve met and built a relationship with who inspired you to engage with the cause, or they could be someone you met as you began to research a particular social problem.
The one could also be a detailed persona that represents the targeted population on an individual level.2 Regardless, the emotions, needs, and hardships of the one should act as a frequent reference point for how an intervention might affect people personally and should prevent your efforts from becoming too abstract. Remembering the needs of the one acts as a stabilizing force in building effective, lasting solutions.
Some key strategies for identifying the one include evaluating your affinity and proximity to an issue and constructing an issue triangle.
HOW DO AFFINITY AND PROXIMITY CONNECT TO SOCIAL IMPACT WORK?
Examining your affinity and proximity is a key step in identifying the focus of your work. They help you narrow a broad social issue into something more specific and actionable, something you can meaningfully engage with and address. First, let’s define affinity and proximity.
Affinity: A natural liking, attraction, or connection between people or things based on shared interests, values, or qualities.
Proximity: Nearness in space, time, or relationship to a person, place, event, or circumstance.
In the social impact sphere, having an affinity for a cause means you have a natural interest or desire to help with a particular social issue. Proximity means that the issue is close to you in time, space, location, or relationship. Oftentimes, this means that the issue is relevant in your school, community, or family. Your interest in and closeness to the issue increase your likelihood of success when working to solve the problem.3 Having both affinity and proximity to a social issue also makes it easier to identify the one.
Before beginning phase one of the Social Impact Cycle and working to love the problem, you will first identify an individual or a location-specific social issue to which you have both affinity and proximity. For example, a high school student might realize that their friend doesn’t have enough food to eat on the weekends. They are moved by compassion for their friend and want to take action. This friend has become the one. As a result, the high school student might begin asking specific questions about how they can improve the life of their friend. Does the friend receive free lunch at school? What resources are currently available to them outside of school? Is parental involvement required to access the food bank as a minor? By identifying the one, this student has also clarified what social issue they want to engage with: food insecurity among high school students in their community.
Some people may have affinity and proximity to an issue without already having the one in mind. If this is the case, they might begin their research on the topic and find the one during the research process. The goal is to identify an individual amidst the affected population on whom they can center their efforts. In both cases, the next step, after identifying either an individual or a social issue, is creating an issue triangle.
For what social issue/individual do you have an affinity? To what social issue/individual are you proximate?
WHAT IS AN ISSUE TRIANGLE?
Now that you’ve identified either the one or the social issue, the next step is creating an issue triangle. An issue triangle contains valuable information about the population, geography, and social issue you plan to engage in, with the one acting as the center of the issue triangle. By examining your affinity and proximity, you can identify at least one piece of your issue triangle: the one or the social issue. From this point, the goal is to define three key aspects of your social issue before beginning your research.
Population: Those impacted by the problem
Geography: Where the problem occurs
Issue: What the problem is
Clarifying these three focus areas sets helpful parameters around your social impact work. It sparks productive questions and steers future research in a distinct direction. Gathering information on the demographics and geography tied to a social issue also helps you understand how localized factors influence the nature and severity of the problem. Later in the Social Impact Cycle, having a firm grasp on the issue’s geography and how the population adapts to that geography will improve how resources are allocated and interventions are prioritized.
Constructing an Issue Triangle
An issue triangle is constructed by combining its three parts into a single statement, with each element present and clearly defined. If one component is vague or disconnected from the others, the research focus moving forward will be too unstable to build on. Use the formula:
[Issue] + [Population] + [Geography]
For example: “High Anxiety Among College Students in Utah.”
The diagram below illustrates how the elements come together:
Construct an issue triangle with a social issue you recognize in your community. What is the affected population? What is the geography? What is the issue?
Using an Issue Triangle to Identify the One
If you haven’t already identified the one during the affinity and proximity stage, you can do so after building your issue triangle. The one sits at the center of the issue triangle, as a symbol of the population, geography, and issue.
This individual should be experiencing the effects of your specific social problem while being firmly established within your chosen population and geographic boundaries. By designing your efforts around helping this individual, your work becomes customized to the specific needs of the people living with your issue, in that particular place. Thereby allowing you to serve the whole by serving the one.
SUMMARY
Creating meaningful social impact starts by focusing your efforts on improving the life of one person. To identify that person, begin by reflecting on your affinity and proximity to specific issues and communities—what you care about and where you have a natural connection. This helps you either recognize someone to center your work around or clarify an issue you’re closely tied to. From there, you can construct an issue triangle to narrow your focus. By defining the issue, the population, and the geographic context, you can identify the one at the intersection of all three. This commitment to identifying the one before moving forward with your social impact efforts is a simple but powerful method to ensure you’re beginning the love the problem phase with clear, purposeful intent.
ENDNOTES
1 - World Bank. (2000). Voices of the poor: Can anyone hear us? Oxford University Press.
2 - Dahiya, A., & Kumar, J. (2018). How empathizing with persona helps in design thinking: An experimental study with novice designers. In Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction 2018 (pp. 35–42): “(PDF) HOW EMPATHIZING with PERSONA HELPS in DESIGN THINKING: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY with NOVICE DESIGNERS.” n.d. Www.researchgate.net.
3 - Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construallevel theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440–463.