The Limitation: Mountaintop has spent a lot of time reflecting on what it would take to build a flourishing community. Good policies and strong economies do not appear out of thin air but rather come from people with the right knowledge, skills, mindsets, and relationships working on the right activities in the right places, empowered by inclusive political and economic institutions that allow them to reach their full potential. Because of this, Mountaintop believes there should be much more emphasis on building the "human infrastructure" of a community which will lead to sustainable long-term flourishing than short-term policy solutions or technical fixes. While in general this would mean deeper investments in things like innovation, workforce development, education, and public institutions, in the context of international development it would also mean more aid, investment, and technical assistance going to local entrepreneurs, civil society leaders, and government officials that are best positioned to strengthen the human infrastructure of their own countries, rather than permanently relying on foreign experts and cash infusions to prop up politically and economically fragile societies.

 

In line with this thesis, Mountaintop has a dynamic Theory of Change that it regularly updates, but recognizes the inherent limitations of an organization building a theory of change biased by its own experiences.​

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More Detail: First, Mountaintop recognizes the complexity and impossibility of providing hard-and-fast definitions of words like "leaders" or "local" or even "community," and instead aims to continue learning and adapting its model based on what is working to create systems change.

 

Second, Mountaintop recognizes that there could be other important ways to help communities flourish, such as redistributing wealth if a country has high income from natural resources or a new technology makes an economy more efficient. Mountaintop cannot prove empirically that its focus on human infrastructure is a more important priority than simpler redistribution schemes or focusing on technological development and diffusion, but rather relies on a review of the literature in history, political science, economics, and international development, as well as hundreds of conversations with local leaders from around the world who are thinking about how to build flourishing communities that can solve their own problems long term. Lastly, Mountaintop relies on the intuition that regardless of the challenge, it will always depend on good people to solve them, even if the exact details change based on time and place. However, as stated, Mountaintop's theory of change is not meant to be a comprehensive road map for building strong communities but rather one organization's perspective of what to prioritize.

 

Third, Mountaintop recognizes that there is a necessary "division of labor" in making positive systems change, and that there are so many organizations and leaders focusing on positive impact that have nothing to do with human infrastructure. Whether providing food in war zones, developing new medicines, or otherwise providing the basic necessities for healthy lives, Mountaintop recognizes and celebrates the work that is allowing people to focus their time not just on survival but also long-term community development. Mountaintop sees its niche in this global effort of building flourishing communities as helping communities solve their own challenges by creating a hub for connecting and cultivating transformational local leadership across low-income communities. At the same time, we recognize that there is so much other important and necessary work being done by other stakeholders with different strategies, and we will continue adapting our model as we learn more from the other luminaries in this space.​

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Mountaintop's Learning and Commitment: Mountaintop has learned that community development is a very complex topic, that we do not have all the answers, and that there are many organizations with much more experience that we will continue to learn from. Mountaintop is committed to keeping an open mind, adapting its theory of change and strategy as we learn more and get new feedback, and continuing to pursue deep, systems-level impact in our pursuit of supporting flourishing communities.