Exploring Social Movements Thinking for Leading Large-Scale Change in Health and Social Services Systems

The purpose of this paper is to explore social movements thinking as an approach to leading large-scale change in health and social services. Based on key informant interviews, publicly available documents and pertinent literature, this paper uses a case study approach to explore two examples of health and social system change that have leveraged social movements thinking in mobilising energy for large-scale system change. The two cases offer insights into the efficacy of a social movements perspective in mobilising energy and commitment for large-scale system change. While the intention of large-scale change is to impact a system at the macro-level, it is inevitably enacted through multiple actions at the micro-levels of a system; individual acts of commitment that resonate with deeply held personal values, inspiring the articulation of shared values and connecting those values with the need for change. The power in social movement thinking is in the ability to elicit those values as inspiration for mobilising a system's energy toward a desired future. The paper proposes ‘lessons’ that may serve as guide posts for those initiating large-scale change efforts in other jurisdictions.