What is social innovation? Imagine a world where every societal challenge is an opportunity for new ideas. This is where social innovation comes into play, a concept that may be new to you, but is vital for anyone looking to make a difference. Through this article, we’ll explore why understanding and engaging in social innovation is essential for transforming our communities and future.
You may not have heard of the term social innovation before. But it is something that if we want to make a difference in our communities it matters to us all. By having a core understanding of the topic: we can unite our efforts, learn from one another and find new ways to address the challenges facing our society.
Why is Social Innovation Important?
Social innovation is important as social innovations include addressing all the problems that really properly mess up people’s lives. It incorporates addressing EVERYTHING we care about: Social inequalities, gender biases, racial discrimination, migration, poverty and it doesn’t end there, it is also including environmental issues, our lived environment, our future and our children’s future. So it includes just about all the problems humanity faces. (And If aliens land we will need social innovations to deal with them too.). Social Innovation to leads to social projects, so it is fundamental to everything we do.
What is Social Innovation?
“Novel changes to the way that people do things, that create desirable positive social impacts. Resulting in improvements in the overall health and well-being of society and its members. Improving the function of our communities to the long-term benefit of the humans within it.”
LeadingToImpact
This definition recognises that social innovation needs to be something new, at least in the local social system, it changes people’s behaviour and that there must be a positive desirable social impact has the advantage of creating three different criteria that we can test. This is important as to say something is a thing we also have to be clear what it is not. If it is not new, it doesn’t change people’s behaviour or result in a positive social impact i think we can be comfortable in saying it is not social innovation.
Challenges with Defining Social Innovation.
There are many challenges to defining social innovation. Like any name for a thing, especially the new ones, the definition changes on who is making it. It also has extremely fuzzy edges, which I think defies complete definition. Finding the edges of what is and isn’t social innovation quickly gets lost in a Russian doll of meanings. That many other people define it pretend are clear, but in practice, they are not.
(What exactly is social? Where is the boundary with the community? If Mars makes a smaller bar and I comment on it, is that social? What if that means I spend less time eating and more time talking? Is it a social innovation then? — we should always be a little wary of definitions and the people who claim they are anything other than contextually determined. I understand the academic need to box off social innovation. But the real world is not boxed off, it is fundamentally socially connected at every level.)
Definitions of Social Innovation
Here are some examples of social innovation definitions:
“The satisfaction of alienated human needs through the transformation of social relations: transformations which ‘improve’ the governance systems that guide and regulate
the allocation of goods and services meant to satisfy those needs, and which establish new governance structures and organizations”
MacCALLUM et al. 2009: Social Innovation and Territorial Development
“New ideas (products, services and models) that simultaneously meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations. In other words, they are innovations that are both good for society and enhance society’s capacity to act”
Murray et al THE OPEN BOOK OF SOCIAL INNOVATION
“Social innovation is the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues in support of social progress. Social innovation is not the prerogative or privilege of any organizational form or legal structure. Solutions often require the active collaboration of constituents across government, business, and the nonprofit world.”
Sarah A. Soule, Neil Malhotra, Bernadette Clavier Stanford Business School
“Social innovation refers to the design and implementation of new solutions that imply conceptual, process, product, or organisational change, which ultimately aim to improve the welfare and wellbeing of individuals and communities.”
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Website)
The four definitions I’ve listed above our all good efforts. However, the challenge with these is that they are all deliberately done to people. (Presumably by someone who knows what’s good for them.) Whereas most social innovations that shape our society emerge with a different intention and create unexpected positive and negative benefits. e.g. iphones.
They also assume that society is mechanical like a factory production line. You do something to it and it will change the process consistently. They rely on a logical cause and effect view of the world. That all problems are solvable and we just need the right silver bullet to fix them.
This view is at odds with the modern science understanding human society as a complex adaptive system where change is constant and future is not predictable.
Understanding Social Innovation
Social innovation is difficult to understand. That why with all the challenges we face, why is social innovation just gaining popularity for addressing problems with people. People are complex. Anything involving people has a nasty habit of turning into a wicked problem. Wicked problems are by their very definition insolvable. What do you mean insolvable you may ask: Insovable means it cannot be dissolved into different parts. I would argue if you are going to address economic deprivation through people’s actions, you might be able to make huge improvements, but the chances of it becoming and staying solved are sadly pretty much impossible. Even if you gave everyone a million pounds today. Some people will end the day with nothing, others with many extra millions.
That doesn’t mean we should not try. Indeed it is argued by Jeremy Bentham who was definitely thinking about social innovation in his theory of utilitarianism that our “actions should be judged right or wrong to the extent they increase or decrease human well-being or ‘utility’.”
Social Innovation is Unpredictable.
Social Innovation is unpredictable as demonstrated by the irony that Jeremy Bentham thought that humanity would be best served by having his body pickled and placed on display. It has been put in pride of for public viewing for all students at University College London for the last couple hundred years. Talk about product placement. Kids thinking they invented the whole Key Person of Influence thing, are just amateurs. I suppose though dear Jeremy never intended for his pickled head to be stolen by students as a prank. Humans eh, fundamentally unpredictable.
That unpredictability is why social innovation is only just becoming a thing. Now the geniuses of silicon valley are solving all our technical problems infinitely quickly in infinitely smaller ways in one great ‘singularity’ (presumably to be kept somewhere up Elon Musk’s bum). The main problems left to be dealt with are, unfortunately, ‘us’. Being conscious humans means we have a responsibility to improve ourselves and each other. The fact we have created and made such a mess of the whole ‘looking after each other and not destroying life thing’ gives us plenty of work to do.
Why You Should Care About Social Innovation?
I simply cannot get over the irony that at the very time that humanity’s existence is at threat and there are literally more people living in avoidable misery than ever before we have a crisis of purpose. The problem is not the purpose, it is turning that purpose into effective meaningful impactful action. That is why we need social innovation, that is why it is important and that is why you should care. We need frontline leadership. We desperately need more social innovators and we really need to work together. Just be careful, on your way to maximising your utility, not to lose your head.
How to Create Social Innovation
If you are passionate about leading social innovation and creating social impact. You can read my complete guide and how to create social projects. I’ve created a journey for social impact and can support with consultancy and advice to help empower you to gain funding and create a strategy to maximise your social impact, change the world and make a difference.
Examples of Social Innovation
Social innovation takes many forms, addressing a myriad of challenges across the globe. For instance, microfinance initiatives empower small business owners in developing countries to break the cycle of poverty, while urban gardens transform unused city spaces into green hubs that foster community and local food production. In the realm of technology, apps that connect surplus food from restaurants to food banks tackle waste and hunger simultaneously. Educational programs designed to bridge the digital divide equip underprivileged communities with crucial tech skills, enabling greater access to opportunities. Each example not only addresses a specific societal issue but also creates a ripple effect of positive change, showcasing the transformative power of social innovation.
Learn to create change that flows: Discover more at edgeofpossible.com
What you can do?
- Have a think about what issues need to be tackled socially in your life?
- What can you do differently to tackle them?