B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●● high
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4BHistory grows each quarter
Build Change: It is not the earthquake that kills people, it is the building. The letter is B; certainty is high. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
People do not die in earthquakes because of the earthquake; they die because badly built buildings collapse. That is how Elizabeth Hausler puts it. With a doctorate in structural engineering, she founded Build Change in 2004.
It began with new construction after disasters and, following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, shifted its axis to retrofitting existing houses to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. Fixing before it breaks is cheaper than rebuilding after. She argues that for every $1 spent on prevention, $7 is saved in disaster response. The method is distinctive too: rather than handing over drawings, it teaches local builders and tradespeople techniques that meet building standards, and pays out subsidies in instalments, checking compliance as it goes. It reports having worked with more than 1.4 million people and made 280,000 buildings safer. An older record credits it with training more than 23,000 people in disaster-resistant design and construction and providing technical help on more than 47,000 safer homes.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
"People do not die in earthquakes because of the earthquake; they die because badly built buildings collapse" - so says Elizabeth Hausler, who holds a doctorate in structural engineering. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake the organization shifted its axis from new construction to retrofitting existing homes. Rather than handing over drawings it teaches local builders and tradespeople techniques that meet building standards, and pays subsidies in instalments while checking compliance. It reports having worked with more than 1.4 million people and made 280,000 buildings safer. Nature of sources: independent (university and Ashoka) plus programme-official.
Source nature: T2 academic institution and industry media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T2 academic institution and industry media
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Cost-benefit claim is the organization's own advocacy figure
- figures from scattered years and little third-party verification
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Spreading retrofitting and connecting it to national housing policy and finance.
A second look
The "$1 saves $7" claim is an advocacy figure, not an independent evaluation. The reported figures come from different years, and no recent third-party verification could be found. A retrofit can only be proved by how a building behaves in an actual earthquake. Paying subsidies in instalments raises the question of what happens to households whose work stops midway.
Sources
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top