Chapters 2 and 3: When Logic Models Meet Wicked Problems
June 1, 2026 • 24:00
What happens when the elegant tools of policy analysis collide with the chaos of real-world social work? This episode was generated using Google NotebookLM based on the course reading for SOWK Advanced Policy Practice, and is designed to help you engage with and review Chapters 2 and 3. We unpack how logic models map the path from inputs to impact, why distinguishing instrumental from symbolic program goals matters before you measure anything, and how methods like difference-in-differences and randomized controlled trials help isolate whether a program actually caused change or just got lucky with timing.
But even the best models hit a wall. Chapter 3 pulls back the curtain on why comprehensive rationality is a myth, how bounded rationality leads practitioners to satisfice rather than optimize, and why wicked problems like the opioid epidemic resist every clean solution we throw at them. We also cover three cognitive traps that trip up analysts — blurring facts with values, mistaking advocacy for inquiry, and diagnosing a whole society through a single disciplinary lens. The takeaway: the tools are essential, but real social work mastery lies in knowing when to set the spreadsheet down and see the whole patient.