Dissolving Dualities: The Case for Commonsense Replication

Abstract

Although replicating promising organizations and programs has been crucial to the development of the nonprofit sector, the replication process remains poorly understood. Its development has been caught on the horns of three unhelpful dualities: replication versus adaptation, competition versus cooperation, and systems or organizational capabilities versus leadership. Drawing on actual replication experiences, the article contends that these dualities represent false, oversimplified choices and that bridging the gaps they imply would enable replication to do more to strengthen the sector.