Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

■ Functional scaling up. As enterprises or organizationsincrease the types of activities they carry out or the scope orintegration of these activities with other enterprises or organizations,they are undergoing functional scaling. This allowssuccessful enterprises or CBNRM programs to diversify intocomplementary activities. For example, a community watershedrehabilitation program may expand to includeagricultural marketing activities as the restored watershedbecomes more agriculturally productive. Or programs mayexpand into new areas such as nutrition, health, or even literacythat make use of the trust and community mobilizationengendered by the original activities (Hooper et al.2004:131-132; Uvin and Miller 1994:11-12).■ Organizational scaling up. Organizations responsible forcommunity-based projects and enterprises often strengthentheir own capacities substantially, allowing them to take onnew responsibilities or to carry on their current activitiesmore effectively. They may accomplish this through stafftraining and personnel development to improve the managementand systems of the organization. New sources offunding can also lead to organizational scaling by increasingfinancial independence and nurturing creativity and criticalanalysis. Establishing learning links with other publicagencies or private organizations is also an important factorin encouraging this type of organizational growth (Hooper etal. 2004:132; Uvin and Miller 1994:16-18).■ Political scaling up. This type of scaling involves increasingthe political power of an organization or enterprise so that itcan influence state actors, negotiate for stronger support orgreater latitude in its activities, and advocate for policychanges that facilitate the organization’s work or extend theenterprise’s commercial or social reach. Through politicalscaling up, community-based organizations can greatlyincrease the chances that their work will spread to new jurisdictionsor expand into new activities, increasing their impact(Hooper et al. 2004:132; Uvin and Miller 1994:12-13).■ Institutional scaling up. This refers to growing andstrengthening the public institutions necessary for establishingand distributing the benefits of ecosystementerprises. Local government is often the focus of thisscaling. Replication of the institutional infrastructure ofrepresentation—the institutionalized form of participation—andthe placement of natural resource functions atthe local representative level of government can helpspread citizen inclusion in decision-making. Since localgovernment is both replicable across space and sustainableover time, it can be an important partner in scalingup ecosystem enterprises (Ribot 2008). 11