August 16, 2021
By: Henry Malone
Statistics tell stories.
Tracking trends, gathering information and analyzing data can inform a company or organization’s decision-making for years to come. But, statistics can also reveal problems.
Take gun control, for example: An issue that’s been around for long enough that years of research have gone into the root of that problem.
In the United States, gun control in the 21st century has been one of the most persistent, controversial issues our society has been forced to come to grips with. Since the deadly and tragic Columbine mass shooting in 1999, America has seen close to 800 people lose their lives to and even more left injured as a result of mass shootings.
On a more broad scale, no country’s citizens own more guns than those in the United States. A survey conducted by BBC in 2018 showed that Yemen had the second-most firearms per 100 residents on average at 52.8. United States residents doubled that figure by a significant amount, coming in at nearly 120 firearms per 100 residents.
BBC also found that America experiences far more gun-related homicides compared to any other country in the world by yet another wide margin. In the U.S. in 2019, approximately 73 percent of all homicides have been gun-related, compared to just 39 percent for the next closest nation (Canada).
But despite all of the research that’s gone into identifying the problems with gun control, that’s only half the battle…
Mutually reinforcing activities to further the effort toward impacting meaningful change is crucial in any reformation cause. Such data like those on gun ownership can help paint a picture of what the problem looks like, but having the transparency to plan out future strategies and guide your decision-making is when a collective impact can be made across an issue like gun control.
Mutually reinforced activities are essential in regard to implementing and maintaining progress through results-based accountability (RBA), ensuring that action is taken in a thoughtful and disciplined manner to generate measurable change within a community. An important step in doing so is to identify activities and actions that have a high probability of effectiveness based on the community.
In regard to gun control, Rhode Island implemented gun control laws specific to their community, such as having a seven-day waiting period for firearms purchases and requiring background checks to buy a handgun from both public and private distributors. As a result, Rhode Island is among the states with the lowest death rates in the country over the past five years.
Finding ways to create tasks with a high probability of success and cater to your community that can be shared and delegated to different individuals and groups based on their strengths can be the first step toward making your desired collective impact a reality. Prioritizing those tasks and dedicating the appropriate time and resources to the most important ones helps organize your program’s efforts and helps you operate within a results-based accountability standard.
For more information on Mutually Reinforcing Activities’ importance to Collective Impact and Results-Based Accountability, visit this link!
About the Author:
Henry Malone received his B.A. in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2021. There, he served as Deputy Editor for the University newspaper, the Testudo Times. As a marketing and journalism intern for Clear Impact, Henry researches, writes, and edits website content and news articles focusing on the nonprofit and public sectors.
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