Teaching Paper: Comparative Mechanisms of Change in Non-Profit Strategy
Author: Dr. Anna Neya Kazanskaia
Publisher: NEYA Global Publishing
Article | NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies
Year: 2025
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5669-1676
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-hworgbrchmchscimp-tp-02
This material forms part of the NEYA Global knowledge architecture. Institutional, organizational, professional, training, consulting, curriculum, program design, or implementation use requires an active license from NEYA Global
Explore Architecture →
Module Overview →
Request Institutional Access →
About the Article
This Teaching Paper presents a comparative framework for analyzing how non-profit organizations achieve social change through three interrelated mechanisms: service delivery, advocacy and policy reform, and cultural transformation. It highlights the distinctive inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes of each pathway while identifying their typical risks and limitations. Service delivery ensures immediate, tangible results but may lead to dependency; advocacy enables structural change but risks elite capture; and cultural transformation fosters lasting shifts in norms and behaviors but requires generational time horizons. The paper argues that these mechanisms are most effective when integrated into hybrid strategies that combine immediacy, influence, and long-term transformation. Designed for practitioners, students, and researchers, it provides a structured analytical tool for evaluating how diverse strategies interact to produce systemic impact.
Key Topics
- Theory of Change
- Mechanisms of Change
- Service Delivery
- Advocacy and Policy Reform
- Cultural Transformation
- Strategic Integration
- Systemic Impact
Suggested Citation
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Teaching Paper: Comparative Mechanisms of Change in Non-Profit Strategy: Analyzing Service Delivery, Advocacy, and Cultural Transformation. NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies. NEYA Global Publishing. https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-hworgbrchmchscimp-tp-02
References
Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Wiley.
Drucker, P. F. (1990). Managing the Nonprofit Organization: Principles and Practices. HarperCollins.
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Mechanisms of NGO social change: An integrated framework of inputs, processes, structures, and outcomes. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-hworgbrchmchscimp-10
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Processes of change in non-profit organisations. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-hworgbrchmchscimp-04
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Outputs, outcomes, and impact pathways in non-profit organisations. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-hworgbrchmchscimp-06
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). How Organizations Bring Change: Mechanisms of Social Impact. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/change-mechanisms-2025
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Ethical Decision-Making. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/ethical-decision-making-2025
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Public Policy: Power and Influence in Decision-Making. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/public-policy-2025
Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use. Guilford Press.
Weiss, C. H. (1995). Nothing as practical as good theory: Exploring theory-based evaluation. Evaluation, 1(3), 151–160.
